Harry Potter and the Inevitable
by GinnyPotter0116
Summary: Harry Potter's life is changing rapidly since the return of Lord Voldemort, the world darkening around him and his friends. After being captured and tortured by Voldemort for information, his life is about to change forever. With Voldemort taking over quicker than anyone could of imagined, Harry has to make the choice between what is right, and what is easy.
1. Chapter 1: His Bloody Scar

Harry sighed as he set the '_Evening Prophet'_ back on the counter. He had been searching the papers for any news on Voldemort or any sudden deaths and disappearances since he had been cleared by the Ministry for under-age magic, but found nothing. Harry sat up off his chair and looked around the dirty room, surprised to find himself alone. He hadn't realized that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left as he was reading the paper.

Harry walked upstairs to his and Ron's room, which he found empty, and sat down on his bed. His mind wondered back to what Sirius had told him when he first got to Grimmauld Place, about what he said Voldemort was after. Some kind of weapon he didn't have the last time, but what could be worse than the _'Avada Kedavra'_? Harry kept thinking, but nothing worse came to mind.

Harry heard the front door open downstairs, and figured another member from the Order arrived. Order member's had been coming more often after the hearing, and Harry couldn't understand _why_. He jumped when he suddenly heard Mrs. Weasley shouting furiously, something about finding another Extendable Ear in the twin's bedroom. Harry chuckled as he imagined Fred and George cowering under their mothers glare.

He also heard people moving down the stairs and to the landing, and sighed to himself. Harry wanted to join them right now, but he also wanted to be left alone. He had been like this since he got back from the hearing, and it seemed only Sirius and Remus had noticed. Everyone else in the house was busying cleaning and trying to make the house suitable to have people live in, so his friends always had their minds somewhere else, which didn't bother him much.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley called, bringing him out of his thoughts, "Dinner's ready!"

Harry considered for a moment staying in his room for the rest of the night, but decided against it, knowing Mrs. Weasley and most likely Remus would scold him for hardly eating and locking himself inside his room. He got off the bed and made his way down the stairs, and entered the dining room. Harry was surprised to see so many people. Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and even Snape were sitting down with the rest of the family.

Harry scar gave a sudden sharp pain, but he was used to it by now, and knew how to hide the fact that he was hurting easy from his friends, who seemed to know when his scar bothered him. But as he found a seat in between Sirius and Remus, he saw that they were looking at him with concern. They never missed a trick, and it amazed Harry how easily they could tell if you were faking.

"What is it?" Sirius asked in a hushed voice as Harry sat in his seat.

"Nothing, it's fine." Harry told him quickly.

"Harry-" Started Sirius, but Remus cut him off.

"If he says its fine, Sirius, leave it." Remus told him.

Harry looked at Remus, who was giving him a disapproving look, and stared guilty down at his plate. He picked out his food while chatter ran down the table, and listened while picking at his food. As dessert was served, Harry felt a pair of eyes on him, and a sudden pain start in his scar. The pain was worse then he had ever felt it before, and tried to rub at his scar nonchalantly as he held in a yell of pain to avoid attention. His cool fingers soothed the pain little, and when he pulled his hand away it had a small amount of blood on it. Harry stared at it in shock, his scar had never bled before.

He felt a drop of blood fall off his head and hit the table, and covered his scar with his hand again, he could feel the small blood flow under his fingertips. Harry was grateful that no one was aware of what was going on yet, and tried to cover his scar with his bangs as much as possible. Harry then sat up and left the table quickly, avoiding the looks Sirius, Remus, and Mrs. Weasley gave him, and hurried into the bathroom on the next floor.

"What was that about?" Sirius asked his friend.

"I don't kn-" Remus was saying, until he looked over at Harry's untouched plate.

Remus' face paled as he saw the few drops of blood on the plate, and looked wide-eyed at his friend.

"What's wrong, Moony?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows creased together.

Instead of answering, Remus pointed to the plate, and watched Sirius choke on his wine as he saw it. Remus became aware that most of the table was looking in their direction, and shared a look with Sirius.

"Go check on him." Sirius said urgently.

Remus nodded and left the table, hurrying up the stairs to the next floor and to the only door that wasn't open. He knocked and heard something drop in the bathroom.

"Harry, let me in." He said sternly.

"Hold on, I'm almost done." Harry replied quickly, his voice sounding off.

"Harry, open the door now." Remus ordered.

Harry didn't answer him, but continued on what he was doing inside the locked room. Remus gave a frustrated sigh, and drew out his wand.

"_Alohomora_." He whispered, pointing his wand at the lock on the doorknob.

Remus grabbed the knob and yanked it open, and heard a yelp of surprise. Harry was in the middle of the bathroom with a bloody cloth in hand, and his hand covered in some blood over his scar.

"What happened?" Remus asked, staring in shock.

"I don't know! My scar just starting hurting, then it started bleeding. Remus, it won't stop!" Harry told him, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Remus hurried over and starting muttering some Healing Charms onto the scar, but nothing worked. The only thing Remus could of was to put a bandage over the scar, and did so.

"Go downstairs and into the sitting room, I'll get Molly." Remus told Harry.

Harry nodded, looking pale and pained. He walked out of the room and hurried into the sitting room, hoping no one would see him. Remus sighed and looked down at his hands, which had some of Harry's blood drying on them. He didn't care, all he cared about was getting Molly and helping Harry. Remus hurried down the stairs and walked back into the kitchen. He almost walked into Snape, who was leaving. Remus muttered an apology and hurried into the dining room. No one was eating anymore, but just sitting and talking amongst each other. Sirius was staring at him, a look of worry etched on his face. Remus walked right passed him, and continued walking until he got to were Molly was sitting.

"I need your help, Harry's scar is bleeding and it won't stop." He whispered urgently in her ear.

Molly's eyes widened, but she nodded and got out of her chair quickly. Sirius stood up and started to walk over towards them, when everyone heard a thump, a yelp of surprise, and a muffled cry from the other room. The whole room hurried out of their seat, and followed Remus and Sirius, who had ran out of the room before them.

The first thing everyone saw was the unconscious body of Snape, who was lying in the doorway. Then they saw Remus and Sirius, starring at something in front of them in fear. All heads turn that way and fear petrified everyone in the room. Harry was in the middle of the room, struggling and trying to escape the hands of none other then Lord Voldemort.

* * *

Harry looked up as he saw someone in the doorway, and was surprised to see Snape standing there, and at the same moment his scar gave another twinge of pain. Snape stared at Harry, but said nothing. Harry rolled his eyes and ignored him, pressing his hand over his scar trying to soothe the pain. He heard a sudden thump, and looked up wildly. Snape was lying on the ground, and Voldemort was approaching him. _How the hell did he get here?!_ Harry thought frantically as he gave a yelp of surprise and jumped off the couch, looking for a way to escape as he started to back up against the wall.

"How the hell did you get here?" Harry asked with panic rising in his voice.

Voldemort didn't answer him, but hurried towards him with a sadistic smile and before Harry could yell for help, Voldemort clamped a hand over his mouth. Harry's scar seared with pain and he gave a loud, muffled cry. Voldemort pull Harry closer to him, keeping a grip on his back as Harry struggled against him. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his scar growing painful as Voldemort touched him.

Harry heard footsteps, and lifted his head. Remus and Sirius were first to appear, and looked fearful at Voldemort and Harry. Harry then saw a wave of people rush in behind them and their shocked faces as they took in the scene. Harry clawed at the hand on his mouth, and the one retraining him, but Voldemort tightened his grip and chuckled.

"Lower your wands, Lupin and Black." Voldemort commanded, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

Harry looked up and saw both Remus and Sirius had taken out their wands, pointing them straight at Voldemort. They seemed hesitant, and only lowered there wands slightly. Harry felt Voldemort release his mouth and back, and sucked in a deep breath before Voldemort tightened an arm around his neck and grabbed his wand out of his robes quickly. Harry now clawed at the arm that was cutting off most of his air supply, and felt Voldemort's wand poke him at his throat.

"Lower your wands now, or I will kill Potter!" Voldemort yelled, anger in his voice as he started to loose his patience.

"H-he won't do it!" Harry choked out when he saw the looks of fear in their eyes.

"Silence!" Voldemort hissed at Harry, jabbing the wand harder into his throat.

Remus and Sirius finally dropped their hands to their sides as they noticed that Harry could hardly breathe and didn't want to take the chance of Voldemort acting of his threat. Harry looked at the faces staring at him, and was surprised to see Hermione, Ginny, and Molly crying silently, while Tonks, Mad Eye, and Arthur tried to mask their fear, unlike Ron, Fred, George, Remus, and Sirius, who all looked fearful.

"You didn't think that you could escape me so _easily_, did you now, Potter?" Voldemort asked Harry, his voice now calm and silky.

"Let g-go of me!" Harry choked out, ignoring his question.

"That would be counter-productive, Potter. Now answer me."

Harry didn't answer, the pain in his scar felt like it had reached it's breaking point. He could feel blood soak through the bandage that Remus had put over his scar, and felt it start to seep out of the bandage slowly.

"Why do you need Harry?" Remus asked, wanting to stall Voldemort as much as he could.

"You see, Lupin, I wasn't done talking to Harry when he left so rudely in May. I want information, and I plan to get it." Voldemort answered coldly.

"I won't tell you _anything_!" Harry spat.

"_Crucio_!" Voldemort yelled, jabbing his wand harder into Harry's throat.

Harry yelled out as pain coursed through him, doubling over as his body started twitching uncontrollably. He tried to bow his head so that his face was hidden, but Voldemort had caught him by his hair and pulled Harry up straight, allowing everyone to see the pain etched upon Harry's face.

"_Stop it_!" Sirius yelled desperately.

Voldemort laughed, and released Harry of the curse. Harry breathed deeply, his body trembling with the after shock. If Voldemort hadn't had a grip on him, Harry legs would of failed to keep him up straight.

"What do you want? Just name it and we'll give it to you, just give us Harry back." Sirius pleaded.

"Doesn't that feel familiar, Harry?" Voldemort asked loudly for everyone to hear, ignoring Sirius, "Someone begging for your life?"

Harry felt his face pale as his stomach churned, the last words he heard his mother speak now rang in his ears, and had been unaware of the outraged looks thrown in Voldemort's direction.

"And Black, the only thing I want is to kill Harry Potter. And I plan to do just that after he gives me the information I want." Voldemort finally replied.

There was nothing anyone could do. No one could throw a curse at Voldemort without hitting Harry, and Harry was too weak to fight back anymore because of the pain he was in. Voldemort knew that as well, and had a look of triumph on his face. Harry knew right away this wasn't going to be good. He hardly knew _anything_ about the Order so far, let alone the things Voldemort would want him to tell.

"I'm finished here. Say goodbye, Potter. I doubt you'll be seeing them anytime soon." Voldemort said with a smirk.

Harry's eyes widened as he looked at the faces in the room, fear creeping inside him. Sirius had raised his wand and pointed it at Voldemort, but before he could do anything, Voldemort apparated himself and Harry out of Grimmauld Place.

Harry landed with a thud on the ground, and tried not to vomit. His stomach was flipping from Apparating for the first time. Voldemort gripped Harry harder and forced him to walk with him, jabbing his wand hard into Harry's back. Harry looked around his surroundings, but there was hardly anything there. The hallway he was walking down was made of gray stone, and had no windows. Candles that hung on the walls lit the way, and there were cracks on the cement floor. They finally reached a door at the end of the hallway, a wooden door with a small window with bars. Voldemort stopped and opened the door with his wand, and took the wand out of Harry's jeans that he had not been able to reach. Harry gulped and watched as Voldemort pocketed it into his own robes.

"Try not to get _too_ comfortable." Voldemort sneered as Harry peered into the room.

It was the same as the outside; grey walls, windowless, but only a single candle could be found, and it was freezing. Before he could do anything, Voldemort pushed Harry so harshly into the room that he lost his balance, and hit his head on the wall with a crack. Harry felt blood start to soak at his scalp, and knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2: Sealed Lips

Sirius shot a Stunning Curse right at Voldemort, but he had been too late, Voldemort had already left with Harry. The whole Order stood there for a minute, shocked at what just happened, then sprang into action. Mad-Eye called Tonks towards him, Molly and Arthur were trying to calm down their distraught children, while Remus, Sirius and the remainder tried to figure out how exactly Voldemort had entered Grimmauld Place.

"Snape had to of been involved." Remus muttered through clenched teeth as he looked down at the still unconscious form of Snape.

"I knew Dumbledore should of never trusted him!" Sirius spat angrily.

"Never of trusted whom may I ask?" A voice by the fireplace spoke.

Head's snapped over and saw the form of Albus Dumbledore step out of the fireplace, a look of confusion upon his face.

"Snape! He helped Voldemort capture Harry!" Sirius shouted outrageously.

A flicker of fear crossed over Dumbledore's face for a split second before he regained his composure.

"When did this happen?" He asked sharply.

"A few minutes before you arrived." Remus replied.

Before Dumbledore could respond, a groan from the other side of the room caught everyone's attention. Snape had finally woke up. Sirius' face contorted in anger as he started to march towards Snape, but Remus put a hand on his chest to stop him. Snape sat up and rubbed at a spot on his head, and looked around at everyone near to him.

"What the hell did you do, _Snevilus_?" Sirius whispered dangerously, but loud enough for him to hear.

Snape stood up and grimaced at Sirius while he straightened out his cloak. Snape was suddenly aware that all eyes were on him.

"I don't know _how_, but the Dark Lord figured it out somehow - I don't know how he could of possessed me-" Snape started with anger laced in his voice, but Dumbledore stepped up and silenced him with a finger.

"Voldemort-" Few flinched at the name, "Would have figured it out sometime, Severus. Right now we need to worry about how we are going to rescue Harry. I presume Voldemort will ask Harry for information, so that gives us some time to start planning." Dumbledore said, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"Do you think Harry will be okay, Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione spoke up in a small voice, her face displaying her fear.

"For now. When we rescue him, however, I would say he won't be in the best shape." Dumbledore replied.

Hermione gave a squeak of horror and Ron came over and hugged her to his side in an attempt to comfort her, and tried not to show his own fear.

"Severus, I need you to go when your mark burns, and find out where Harry is being kept. Make sure you don't let Voldemort know what your doing. It is essential." Dumbledore spoke in a clear voice.

Snape nodded, and sat down on the couch closest to him with his head in his hands. Molly started ushering Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George upstairs so they could plan, and tried to regain her composure for them, not noticing that it was useless. Remus and Sirius were both trying desperately to keep calm, and Dumbledore started to lay out the plans to everyone.

* * *

Harry felt something wet and sticky run down the side of his face, and wearily opened his eyes. It took him a minute to realize exactly where he was, and why he was there. Harry placed a hand on the side of his head and felt the cold stickiness on the side of his head, he pulled his hand back only to find it coated in his blood. Harry sighed and pulled himself into the sitting position, and left a bloody handprint on the cement floor as he did. He tried to keep calm, everyone knew he was taken, they were surely trying to come up with a idea to help him, to save him-

A loud noise pulled Harry out of his thoughts, and looked at the the small door in the front of him. He could see the lock turning, and felt his breathing pick up. A masked Death Eater walked into the room, and went right for Harry. Harry tried his best to fight him off, but when the Death Eater tied his hands together and punched him hard in the stomach, Harry gave up his fight and reluctantly allowed the Death Eater to drag him out of the room. The Death Eater pulled him along in the hall that Voldemort had so many hours or days ago. Harry didn't know how long he had been knocked out.

He was dragged through many corridors, until they stopped at a door with a silver serpent handle. The Death Eater opened the door and roughly pushed Harry in. Harry felt his scar burst with pain, and tried to keep the fact hidden, he didn't want to give Voldemort the satisfaction that he could hurt Harry without even a finger laid on him.

Voldemort was sitting in a thrown-like chair with Nagini laying on his side. The room was a dark green color, with white marble floors, a fire roaring in the background, and a large window stood behind his chair. Voldemort laid eyes on Harry, and gave a slight nod to the Death Eater behind him. The Death Eater then roughly pushed on Harry's shoulders, forcing him down onto his knees. Harry hid a groan as the floor connected painfully with his knees, and stared down at it. Harry heard footsteps and a door close; he and Voldemort were alone now. The thought sickened him.

"Look at me." Voldemort commanded Harry.

Harry refused, not even acknowledging he heard. Voldemort gave an impatient flick with his wand, and Harry was forced to look into the red eyes he hated so much.

"What do you want _now_?" Harry snapped angrily.

Voldemort got off his chair, and stood right in front of Harry, adding to more of the pain in Harry's scar. Voldemort raised his wand, and Harry tried not to flinch so violently. With a flick of Voldemort's wand, the stickiness and some of the pain in Harry's head went away.

"Tut, tut, Harry. No need to be rude. Cooperate nicely, and you can die a quick death. Refuse to cooperate, you could be tortured to the mere point of insanity, and die _very_ painfully." Voldemort threatened.

Harry closed his eyes, he already knew his answer. The Order would save him before Voldemort could make the threat happen, right? A little pain could be taken before they would save him. Harry opened his eyes again and glared defiantly back at Voldemort.

"Now, lets begin. What is Albus Dumbledore planning?" Voldemort asked.

"I don't feel like talking." Harry spat venomously.

"Too bad," Voldemort snapped, "What is Albus Dumbledore planning?" He repeated.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? You know where Headquarters is." Harry said, pushing off the curse he knew Voldemort would shoot at him when he said no.

"Ah, that's my problem Potter. I was only able to get in Headquarters by possessing Snape. Knowing that Dumbledore will surely make sure I can't do that again, I'm unable to get into the Order's Headquarters." Voldemort asked.

"Then you won't get your answer." Harry said quietly.

Voldemort gave a angry sigh, and slashed his wand in the air. Harry hissed as the Cutting Curse hit him on his shoulder. Harry felt the blood start to soak through his shirt, and tried hiding the pained look on his face as much as he could.

"Do you feel like talking now?" Voldemort asked sarcastically.

"I'm not that soft." Harry snapped back.

_"Crucio_." Voldemort whispered, pointing his wand straight at Harry.

Harry fell to his side as the curse hit him, pain coursing through him like venom. Harry tried hard not to scream, but after a minute his throat felt like it was tearing from the screams he gave. When Harry had been relieved of the curse, he was hardly conscious.

"Take him away. I am done." Voldemort commanded someone.

Harry felt himself lifted into the air, and carried away out of the room and through the corridors. After a minute or so, Harry felt the cold floor that was his cell, and welcomed it, falling unconscious as soon as he touched the floor.


	3. Chapter 3: The Prophesy

Sirius sat alone in the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. It was just past midnight, but he couldn't fall asleep. The images of Voldemort torturing Harry in front of him were playing out in his head, and guilt passed through him, knowing that he could not help Harry when he needed it. Remus walked into the kitchen then and took the bottle out of Sirius' hand and took a large swig out of it.

"It's late, Padfoot. You should try to get some sleep." Remus told him as he set the bottle on the table.

"I can't. No matter what I do, I can't get the image of Harry in Voldemort's hands, Remus." Sirius replied with a shaky sigh.

Remus sighed and sat next to him, and put his head in his heads.

"I know what you mean. But we can't dwell on it right now, we need to figure out how we can get Harry back." Remus said.

"It was my job to protect him, what kind of godfather am I?" Sirius muttered as he laid his head on his crossed arms on the table.

"Sirius, there was _nothing_ you could of done. If you shot a curse it would of hit Harry and made Voldemort's job easier." Remus said in an attempt to soothe Sirius.

Sirius nodded and grabbed the bottle of Firewhiskey again, and drank the remainder of it in one gulp. Sighing, he set the bottle back down and summoned another one out of the cabinet.

"Fine, I'll go to bed. Night Moony." Sirius said, and got up with the bottle in his hand.

"Goodnight Padfoot." Remus muttered, and walked towards the couch he would be sleeping.

Remus sat down on the old couch and rubbed his chin with his hand and felt the deep scars that ran across his face. _Harry is strong_. He tried to reassure himself. _We'll get to him in time._

* * *

Harry groaned as he picked up his head off the wall it had been resting on, and stretched out his arms. He let of a hiss of pain as he made his sore muscles move, and placed his hands back on his lap. Harry looked up at the cracks in the ceiling and saw light pouring through it, and knew it was some time in the day now. Harry looked down at his injury on his shoulder, and took the bandage Remus put on his head off and wrapped it around his shoulder. It was the best and only thing he could do for his shoulder for now. Harry looked up at the door as he heard pacing, which made his stomach lunge. He could see the shadow of the Death Eater outside, who must of been waiting for him to wake up, it was the only reasonable explanation he could think of.

Harry quietly sat himself into a better position, and clamped his hands over his stomach as it rumbled with hunger. He wished now that he had eaten more at dinner last night, or had it been two night's ago? Harry couldn't tell how long he had been in there. He leaned his head against the wall behind him, noting his blood now stained the wall from his shoulder, and suppressed a shudder. Suddenly the light coming from his small window in the door disappeared, and Harry looked up. The Death Eater was peeking in, and had a sick smile etched on his face under his mask as he saw Harry awake. Harry felt fear rise inside him, but did his best to hid it on his face.

The Death Eater unlocked the door and walked in and went straight for Harry. He looked left and right for any escape, but he knew it was useless, there _was_ no escape. He smacked away the hand that tried to grip his arm, and was smacked hard across the face. In a daze, Harry didn't fight off the hands that hoisted him to his feet, and started to drag him towards the door.

"The Dark Lord has requested your presence." The Death Eater told him, and Harry vaguely recognized his voice.

"Great." Harry muttered sarcastically, quiet enough for the Death Eater not to hear.

Harry was dragged along the many corridors in the basement, and Harry wondered how big the house was upstairs. After a few minutes Harry and the Death Eater reached Voldemort's room, and walked in. Voldemort once again was sitting in his throne-like chair, but Nagini was nowhere to be found this time. As they reached the chair, the Death Eater forced Harry down onto his knees and left. Harry and Voldemort were left in the room, and Harry refused to look up at him.

Just like the day before, Voldemort flicked his wand and Harry was forced to look up at him. Voldemort's eyes flickered up to the bloodied scar, and let out a loud, annoying chuckle that made Harry's blood boil.

"Well, Harry. It's seems that you have rested long enough, let me tell you what will be happening here. I will be sending notes to your godfather telling him exactly what he will need to do if he wants you back. I decided to change my mind, there_ is_ something your friends can do for me. With the note I will be sending him, I will need proof that you are still alive. All I need you to do is write something down that only yourself and godfather would know." Voldemort told him, watching Harry for a reaction.

Harry was surprised. Voldemort was actually giving him a chance to go, to be free again? Harry couldn't believe his ears, but he knew better than to trust Voldemort.

"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked.

"Because I need to regain some of my most loyal Death Eaters and information before I can kill you."

"And you actually think that I'll agree to that?"

"Yes, I do. You will do as you are told here, Potter. Or the consequences will be severe." Voldemort replied coldly.

Voldemort flicked his wand again and a quill and piece of parchment laid in front of Harry, who looked down at it angrily.

"No way." Harry told him.

"How about I rephrase that, Potter. you'll do it for the benefit of your pitiful godfather. How else will he know to find you in Little Hangleton? It's your only way out." Voldemort said.

Harry was stunned. _Little Hangleton_? Harry felt sick, the place where Cedric had been killed was not far from where he was, where Voldemort had been revived. Harry knew that he had to act fast like Hermione, come up with something, some kind of anagram for Little Hangleton, and hope Sirius would be able to figure it out. Harry knew Voldemort would have to send another letter or two from Harry after this one, so with a reluctant nod of his head, Harry agreed. He grabbed the quill out of the ink and wrote with a shaky hand on the piece of parchment.

_My protonus is a stag_, Harry wrote. Voldemort summoned the parchment over to himself and quickly read what Harry had wrote, and tied it with another letter to a black owl. As soon as the owl was a speck in the sky, Voldemort turned around and faced Harry, who tightened his lips to keep the groan on pain coming from his scar out.

"Now, Potter." He began, "I want information on the Prophecy."

Harry looked up at him with confusion plastered across his face. _What the hell was Voldemort talking about? What was this Prophecy?_

"The _what_?" Harry asked with his eyebrows pulled together.

"Don't play dumb, Potter," Voldemort snapped, "I know that you know something about the Prophecy, and I want to know what it is."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harry told him with complete honestly.

Voldemort gave a small, lazy flick of his wand and Harry felt a sting shoot up his left arm, and clenched his jaws together to keep any noise from escaping his lips. He glanced down and saw a cut running across his arm, right on the spot where Wormtail had cut him in the graveyard.

"Lying won't get you anywhere." Voldemort said as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

"I'll keep that in mind." Harry snapped, his anger rising again.

Voldemort glared at him with annoyance, then turned away and walked back towards the window.

"With the rate your Godfathers mind works, Potter, you'll be here for quite a while." Voldemort said with a chuckle.

Harry had an urge to strangle Voldemort for making fun of Sirius, but clenched his fist together on his sides, and glared down at the floor.

"You might even be insane by the time he comes, he'll be too late once again. He's never been able to save a Potter on time, or from the end of my wand at least." Voldemort said.

That was it, Harry's last nerve. With hatred rushing over every voice in his head that screamed for him to stop, Harry lunged at Voldemort, reaching for the wand in his hand. But Voldemort was too quick, and had expected the reaction from him. He spun around and hit Harry with the Cruciatus Curse, and watched Harry crumble to the ground in pain, unwilling to give out a scream. After a few long seconds Voldemort lifted the curse, and Harry felt his body try to relax itself instantly, but his trembling did not stop.

Voldemort then summoned a Death Eater to take Harry away as he saw the boy was in no right mind at the moment to talk. The Death Eater harshly pulled Harry onto his feet and jabbed his wand on Harry's neck, and walked out the door. The whole walk back to his dungeon, Harry started on his anagram inside his head, desperate to get the hell out of here and back to his family.

* * *

It was the second day since Voldemort had come and taken Harry, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix surrounded the dining table in Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus sat on either side of Dumbledore, who was at the head of the table. Snape sat next to Remus, and tried to ignore the glares Sirius kept sending his way.

"Hem, hem," Dumbledore muttered, and silence fell in the room. "Now, there are many places that Voldemort would sought to be his Headquarters, and he has placed a Fidelius Charm on his Headquarters and had made himself Secret-Keeper, so no Death Eater can tell us the whereabouts," All eyes in the room flickered to Snape for a moment, " So we need to think about any place that Voldemort has been, that might have some kind of value or meaning to him."

Silence filled the room again, everyone deep in thought, trying to remember anything about places they heard that had Voldemort stayed in the past, anywhere that might have any meaning to him. Almost nothing came to mind.

"Didn't you mention that Voldemort grew up in an orphanage when he was younger Albus?" Remus asked suddenly.

"I did, but the orphanage in which you speak of has been gone for many years now, it was burned down from a muggle fire." Dumbledore replied.

"He wouldn't go to Albania, its too far away from the Ministry... Other than Hogwarts, I can't think of anywhere that Voldemort might use to hide out in." Sirius muttered.

"I have a few leads, and I have Mad-Eye, Tonks and a few other Auror's checking them at the moment. They will send word if they find anything. For now, we need to brain storm." Dumbledore said.

"Okay," Arthur whispered, "When we find Harry, what do you think-" Arthur started but stopped as a pure black owl soared through the window and landed next to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked at the owl in confusion as he untied the note attached to it, and watched the owl soared back out of the window. Shaking his head to himself, Dumbledore carefully opened the letter and started to read, a look of horror slowly etching on his face.

"What is it, Albus?" Snape asked, leaning in closer to him to see the note.

"It seems that Voldemort has changed his mind, and has decided to allow us the chance to save Harry." He answered quietly.

Sirius and Remus shared a look of shock as they both jumped out of their chairs as everyone else looked incredulously at each other, and hurried over behind Dumbledore to read the letter over his shoulder. It read;

_Dumbledore,_

_As the members of The Order of the Phoenix have told you, I have Harry Potter in my custody, and told them there was no way in which I would return him alive. I thought about it more and have decided to take advantage of the situation. If you arrange to have my remaining Death Eaters removed from Azkaban, I will offer Harry back to you. I assume Harry told you where the graveyard was last year, so you will meet me there at midnight on the night of August seventeenth, I will trade Harry Potter for the last of my Death Eaters. If in which you refuse to do this, I will kill Harry as slowly as possible the minute after midnight. I suggest you choose wisely._

_-Lord Voldemort_

"How do we even know Harry is alive?" Sirius asked, his face pale.

"Hold onto that thought, Sirius. I see another note in the envelope." Dumbledore muttered, and took out the second note.

After a quick look at it, Dumbledore handed it to Remus, and he and Sirius read the shaky handwriting. _My patronus is a stag_, it said. Relief spread through them both, Harry was alive and thinking clearly. As soon as the relief came, it vanished just as quick.

"Albus," Remus said slowly, "You and I both know we can't let any of the remaining Death Eaters out, it's too dangerous."

"I know Remus, that is why we need to come up with a plan to trick Voldemort that we are agreeing to his terms." Dumbledore answered him.

Little did they know in the hallway on the next floor, five children stood together holding an Extendable Ear in the middle of them, and had heard every single word the adults spoke, and all looked at each other worriedly.

* * *

Harry gave a frustrated sigh as he wiped his hand across the dirt on the ground, wiping out the words he had been writing in it. It had been over a few days since he sent the first letter, and Voldemort wanted Sirius and Dumbledore to send a reply before he sent them anything else. The torture sessions continued though, but Harry still had nothing to say. He didn't know any answers to most of the questions Voldemort asked him, and didn't speak a word when he _did_ know the answers. All Harry gotten from the little sessions were a few small cuts and aching muscles from the Cruciatus Curse.

Harry had been trying his hardest to come up with an anagram to send back to the Order, but everything he tried was just a bundle of odd letters together. Giving himself a break, Harry took off his filthy glasses and reached for the small glass of water he had been given while he was sleeping next to the tray of almost empty food, his stomach felt to nauseous to eat too much. Taking a short sip, he put the glass back down and took a bite out of his last piece of stale bread, and grimaced at the taste of it.

Coughing on the crumbs, Harry groaned as he hit his arm on the wall, feeling light pain shoot up his arm from the recent cut. Harry glanced down at it, and had a look of disgust upon his face as he studied the dried blood covering most of the arm, but he didn't dare to touch it in fear of anymore pain. His body still ached from being put under the Cruciatus Curse, and his shoulder throbbed under the bandage Harry had been able to put on it. He could feel the dried blood on his forehead from hitting his head on the wall and when his scar bled under his fingertips as he brushed his fringe from his eyes, and knew he must look terrible.

Harry knew that the time he had now was precious, he never knew when a Death Eater would come and take him back to Voldemort, where he knew he would be hit with even more curses. He wiped his eyes free of dirt, Harry wrote the words 'Little Hangleton' in the dirt again, and looked for any words he could make out of the letters.

A half hour later, Harry had surprisingly managed to find a word out of most the letters, but still had leftovers. Finally after another ten minutes, he found his anagram. 'Galleon Tenth Lit', Harry shook his head as he looked down at it, everyone back home would think his was nutters. He hoped that Remus or Hermione would be able to figure it out, or even Dumbledore, but he didn't expect them to. But it was _something_. Harry leaned his head lightly against the wall and closed his eyes, and let his mind wander back to what Voldemort kept asking him about.

_What in the bloody hell was he going on about? What was this Prophesy he was obsessing over?_ Harry had never heard the Order mention anything about a Prophesy, and didn't know how it even concerned him. _But then why was Voldemort even wasting his time?_ Harry gave another frustrated sigh at the thought, Voldemort would never stop until he had what he wanted. Harry being here, wherever 'here' was, was proof. Suddenly, Harry could hear footsteps coming his way, and they got louder and louder by the second. Quickly glancing down at his anagram, he chanted the words 'Galleon Tenth Lit' in his head as he wiped the words out of the dirt.

Harry turned his head as he heard the door open, and looked up to into the face of none other than Lucius Malfoy. Harry didn't bother to hid the look of disgust upon his face, Harry watched with narrowed eyes as Lucius made his way across the room and over to Harry, and pocketed his wand as he made to grab at Harry. Refusing, Harry kicked his leg out and heard Lucius groan as it made contact with his stomach, and he loudly swear in irritation. Harry hopelessly made a grab for the wand sticking out of the robe pocket, but was pushed onto his back hard by Lucius, and found a wand pointed to his face.

"Get up, Potter. Now." Lucius snarled.

Harry glared up at him as he grabbed the wall for support as he stood up, knowing another attack on Malfoy would cost his aching body deeply. Grabbing him by the arm, Lucius dragged Harry with him down the endless corridors, snapping at Harry when he walked too slow. When they finally reached the front of door Harry had now become familiar with, Lucius gave a wave with his wand and it opened for them. Inside were a group of Death Eaters surrounding Voldemort, whispering in admiring voices to their master. But when Lucius cleared his throat, silence rang throughout the room as all eyes focused on Harry.

The familiar throb in his scar came back, but Harry paid almost no attention to it as he looked at his Potion's Professor from across the room. Anger raised inside Harry, it was Snape's fault he was here in the first place, Voldemort had him all because of Snape. Then all the Death Eaters moved away from Voldemort, and formed a group behind the thrown-like chair in which their master sat in. Before Lucius went over to join them, he grabbed Harry and dragged him closer to where Voldemort sat, and pushed him down onto his knees.

Voldemort finally got up from his chair, and stood in front of Harry as he caressed the wand in his hand. Harry turned his head away from those red eyes, but with a robotic turn of his head from the flick of Voldemort's wand, he found himself staring at the snake-like face he hated more and more with each passing second.

"What do you want now?" Harry snapped, his patience already lost.

Voldemort gave a lazy flick of his wand, and Harry hissed as a blister formed on his right knee from a Stinging Jinx. He clenched his fingers into fists behind his back, and watched Voldemort start to pace in front of him.

"Well, Harry," Voldemort started off slowly, "A few days ago I sent our letters to your godfather, but I don't think he truly believed it was you writing that sentence. After all, anyone at the school could of seen you perform a Patronus. I think you need to write something more personal to him, for his sake at least. And if he follows my orders from the letter I wrote him, you should be free by the seventeenth of this month."

"What did you tell him to do?" Harry asked, venom in his voice as Voldemort summoned at quill and piece of parchment over to him.

"To give me my remaining Death Eaters for you." Voldemort answered, a ugly smirk upon his face.

Harry swore under his breath, of course Voldemort would put the Order in such a hard situation.

"My, my, Potter. You have a wide variedly of vocabulary." Voldemort said with a chuckle.

Harry glared up at him angrily and spit on the top of one of his shining black shoes that were peeking out from under his black robes. With an annoyed look, Voldemort gave an angry swipe of his wand, ignoring the faint groan he heard from Harry when the Cutting Curse hit his left knee.

"Anyway Harry, back to the letter. I need you to write to your dear godfather for me."

Harry took a deep breath, this is what he had been waiting for, his one and maybe only chance. With a trembling hand he reached for the quill in front of him and dipped it in ink, and wrote on the parchment as quickly as he could. As Harry set down the quill, Voldemort summoned the piece of parchment to himself, his eyebrows creasing as he muttered the words written on the parchment.

"Galleon Tenth Lit?" He murmured, and looked straight at Harry for a moment.

"An inside joke between me and Sirius." Harry whispered the lie, making sure to look away from Voldemort as he said so.

Fortunately Voldemort was tying the letter to the black owl to notice, and Harry watched as the owl fly out in the sky, with his one hope of escaping tied onto its leg.


	4. Chapter 4: Anagrams and Plans

Sirius snored softly on the table in the dining room of Grimmuald Place with his head laying on the top of his arms perched on the table. The clock chimed in the living room down the hall, announcing the time change from nine to ten, but neither the man on the couch sleeping or the man sleeping in the dining room seemed to notice nor wake up. The Weasley children and Hermione could be heard on the top floors in their rooms or in the halls, and Mr. and could be heard yelling at them to be quiet and get ready for bed.

The only thing that did wake Sirius out of a dead sleep was a soft tugging on the sleeve of his shirt, and opened his bleary eyes to find the source. The same owl that brought the letters from both Voldemort and Harry was sitting on the table next to him, pecking its beak at his sleeve until he reached out a shaky hand to untie the letter upon its leg. Shooing the bird away from him, Sirius sat up in his chair and opened the letter carefully.

As he unfolded the parchment, he saw immediately that it was Harry's untidy handwriting, but that was the _only_ thing that he could understand of the letter. _Galleon Tenth Lit? What the hell was that supposed to mean?_ Sirius looked around the room and found that damned black owl perched on the window still, as if watching for his reaction.

"Get out!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, waving his hands at the bird.

When his hand finally made contact with the owl, it screeched indignantly and loudly, and finally flew out the window and back to its owner. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, and Sirius cursed under his breath, wondering who it was that he had woken up. Remus walked calmly into the room with his tired eyes wandering around to find the source of the noise, and finally resting on Sirius.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Picking up the letter off the table, Sirius brandished it in front of Remus' face with fear etched on his own.

"Harry, he's nutters!" Sirius cried hysterically.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, shocked by his outburst.

Sirius gave him the letter, and watched as Remus read it and his eyebrows crease together as he mumbled the words on the parchment over and over again.

"Voldemort's done it, Harry's cracked!" Sirius was beside himself with worry and fear.

Remus shushed him, but it was too late. He could hear several footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Look, Padfoot. Lets just call Dumbledore on the Floo and we'll see if he can understand the message." Remus suggested.

"What message?" A female voice asked by the door.

Turning their heads, Remus and Sirius saw Molly, Arthur, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George standing there. Sirius nodded his head at Remus, and walked past the ground of people gathered in the hall and made way for the fireplace down the hall in the living room.

"We got another message from Harry," Remus told the group, and gestured for them to sit down at the table.

"What did it say?" Molly asked eagerly.

"That's what has Sirius so worried, he doesn't understand what Harry put on it. Do any of you know what Galleon Tenth Lit means?" He addressed them.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, while everyone else looked confused and worried.

"Galleon Tenth Lit." Remus repeated slowly.

"I have no idea what that means." Ron said with a tone of confusion.

"Neither do we. Sirius is going to ask Dumbledore if he does." Remus told them.

He looked around at everyone at the table, and found Molly and Arthur looking worried at each other, lost for words. Fred, George, and Ron were muttering quietly to one another, asking if any of them had heard the term before. But Hermione was mumbling the words under her breath like Remus had before, her eyebrows creased together as she tried to work out what the words could mean inside her head. After a few minutes of talking amongst each other, Sirius can back into the room with a grim expression. Before Remus could ask him anything, Sirius opened his mouth and answered the unspoken question.

"He doesn't know either. But he said that Voldemort wouldn't of driven Harry mad yet, he kept saying that Voldemort needed Harry sane try to get the information out of him, and that Harry's been gone for only a couple days so far. Dumbledore thinks that it's some kind of message Harry wanted to give us."

"But we don't understand the message at all." Arthur said, worry plastered on his face.

"Can I see the letter?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Sirius nodded and handed her the letter, and they all watched as she studied the piece of parchment. After a minute of silence Hermione looked up with a grin on her face.

"What is it?" Ron asked her, understanding something the others didn't.

"Of course, Harry made the message this way so You-Know-Who wouldn't be able to understand it! It's a anagram! All we have to do is place the letters in the right order, and it'll tell us what Harry is really saying." Hermione responded.

Everyone in the room looked at her in awe, surprised how quickly she understood what Harry was doing.

"Brilliant." Remus whispered, and summoned a piece of parchment and a quill with ink and sat down at the table next to Hermione.

"Now," Sirius said as he sat down next to Remus, "All we need to do is figure it out."

* * *

"Now, Potter," Voldemort continued as they both watched the owl that had Harry's letter to prove he was alive fly away, "Back to the matters at hand. What does Dumbledore and his Order Member's have in store for me and my Death Eaters?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "As if he would tell a teenager his plans to stop the Dark Lord." Harry didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of his mouth.

"No, but I would expect him to tell The-Boy-Who-Lived his plans to stop the Dark Lord and his followers."

"Than your a bigger prat than I had thought." Harry muttered, not thinking much of what he was saying.

With a swipe of his wand Voldemort added another cut to the growing amount Harry had, and dropped his voice to a dangerous sounding whisper.

"You know that I can kill at any time I want, this very moment if I please."

Harry looked up from the cut he was inspecting on his stomach, and glared at the pale face staring at him angrily.

"You could, but you won't." Harry said, not knowing how much he would regret muttering the words later.

Voldemort tried to keep his features calm on his face, but the ugly glare would not budge as he stared at the teenager that dared to defy him. Turning away from Harry and to his Death Eaters, Voldemort's growing irritation with the situation slowly started to show, and how far he would be willing to go to get Harry to tell him everything he wanted.

"It seems young Mr. Potter doesn't understand how things work around here yet. Shall we all show him where his place is here?" He asked his servants, and slowly started to point his wand in Harry's direction.

Seeing the understanding nods of everyone else in the room, Harry tensed as a feeling of unease swept through him. _What was going to happen to him?_ Then Harry felt fear hit him strongly as if he had been struck by lightning as the Death Eaters started to pull out their wands and point them at Harry as well. He knew something bad was coming his way, and knew it would hurt badly. Harry tried to prepare his body for the incoming impact, but nothing that he could of done would of prepared him for what was about to happen.

"On the count of three?" Voldemort asked.

Mummers of 'yes' rang in the room, and Voldemort slowly counted to three as he gave Harry an evil smirk.

"_Crucio!_" Four voices yelled at the same time.

Agony. Pain beyond anything he had expirienced pierced his body as he fell sideways to the floor and screamed out with his body convulsing on the ground. Harry clamped his eyes shut and his back arched off the ground, desperately trying to rid some of the pain consuming him. He felt as if he had jumped in a pool full of knives that pierced every part of his skin. Harry bit down on his lip to stop himself screaming, fearing his throat might tear from it, but Harry could feel blood running off his lip as he bit down on it with full force. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the curses were taken off of him, leaving his crumpled form twitching on the ground.

As he gasped for breath, Harry felt his body go limp as he laid on the ground, taking in the relief it needed. But Harry felt like he would pass out any moment, and hoped he would, for pain was still coursing through him, just not as fiercely as before. Harry looked around as his vision got more blurry, and swore he saw Snape looking at him with wide eyes and fear plastered across his features before his eyes fluttered close, and he faintly heard Voldemort order a Death Eater to take him back to his cell. If things continued to go this way while he was here, Harry knew he would be either dead or insane by the time he was found.

* * *

With a small _'pop!_', a man in a dark cloak apparated in the small town of Hogsmeade, and hurried up the pathway to the large castle on the high cliff. Snape had never seen the Dark Lord use that kind of technic before on a prisoner, and feared for Potter as he ran and pushed the castle doors open. Snape ran down corridors as he made his way down to the dungeons, and hoped he had enough Pain Reliever Potion in stock. On his way he almost ran into Dumbledore, and did not stop to apologize as he continued his way But he could hear Dumbledore following quietly behind him, and Snape could of cared less. He finally made his way down the steps that would led him into his chambers, and Snape pushed the door open and hurried in.

"What has happened, Severus?" Dumbledore asked as he watched Snape riffle through his stock of potions.

"The Dark Lord- I've never seen such, such cruelty." Snape sounded as if he was hyperventilating.

"What did Voldemort do to Harry?" Dumbledore asked, the words coming out more harshly than he intended.

"He had a few Death Eaters help him put the Cruciatus Curse on the boy."

Dumbledore sucked in a deep breath as he closed his eyes, he feared for the boys sanity more than he had before. Only moments ago Sirius had called for him, crying that Harry had finally lost his mind, because he couldn't understand what a letter that Harry wrote had meant. Dumbledore wanted to believe Harry would be alright, but the poor boy still had to be in agony from the curses that hit him.

"Hurry then, Severus. Make sure you are not caught." Dumbledore told him.

Snape griped the potion tightly in his hand and nodded, hurrying out of the door and out of the castle, running towards the apparition point in Hogsmeade. He just hoped that he could get the potion to Harry in time.


	5. Chapter 5: Second Thoughts

Harry felt the Death Eaters that had dragged him down the many corridors drop him on the floor of his cell, and heard them lock him in as they left. Harry gently crawled into the corner of the cell where he usually sat, and leaned his body carefully up against it. His body was still twitching every now and then from the curse, and the pain had not yet faded. Harry let a small whimper of pain escape his lips, but other than that he tried to keep quiet. He wouldn't give the Death Eaters guarding the satisfaction of knowing how much pain Voldemort and his followers had inflicted upon him. He had mentally promised himself he wouldn't the second he arrived here.

Grabbing a fist full of hair, Harry clenched his teeth as a sudden stab of pain hit him harder than before, making him want to scream out his pain. He tried to get his mind onto something else, Harry looked down at the cut on his stomach, and noted that the wound had finished bleeding and was now scabbing. Harry didn't believe it to be possible that Voldemort could come up with anything else more cruel and twisted than what he had just done, but Harry had heard a hint of insanity in his voice when Voldemort talked, and knew if it continued to stay it was only going to get worse for Harry.

The thought made Harry shudder. _Please figure out the anagram_. Harry thought desperately. _Anyone. Hermione, Remus, Ron, Ginny-_. He stopped his thoughts on the red-headed girl's image in his mind, and couldn't help but think of how pretty she was. Shaking his head as he pulled his knees close to his chest and rested his elbows on them. _Stop it_, he told himself. _She's Ron's sister, you can't think of her like that_. Harry then tried to think of Cho, the pretty Ravenclaw a year ahead of him, but now she seemed as appealing as Hermione was to him. There seemed to be no attraction towards her anymore.

Harry must have fallen asleep pondering over everything, because the next thing he knew his breakfast tray held food and light crept in though cracks on the wall. Harry looked at his glass of water and noticed a small vial that sat next to it, and looked down at it with confusion. _What is this? Some kind of joke?_ He reached out and grasped the small bottle in his hand, and pulled it close enough to his face so he could read it. _Pain Reliever_, it read in familiar handwriting.

His mind focused back on the pain in his body as he read it again, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. The pain he had been ignoring this whole entire time took all his attention now. Without thinking, Harry uncorked the small vial and poured the potion down his throat, and waited for the affects to hit. Very slowly, Harry felt the pain start to ebb away, like water going down a drain, until it felt like the pain he got from his scar at times. But it was better than what it was before, he could manage it.

Harry sighed as he leaned back into the wall more, his body finally able to relax more, and took a piece of stale white bread off the tray and started to chew on it. In his mind, Harry silently thanked the person that had slipped him the potion, and then started wondering who had enough pity for him to give him the potion in the first place.

* * *

Almost as quiet as a mouse, Albus Dumbledore flooed into the fireplace at Grimmauld Place. His face showed the tiredness he felt inside, for he had not slept at all last night, because of his worry for Harry. He could hear that everyone was in the dining room, eating what was always a fantastic meal cooked by Molly. Muttering a 'good morning' to everyone, he sat down by Sirius and Arthur at the table, and started to pick out food he knew he would hardly eat.

Remus picked up on his odd behavior instantly and gave him a confused look. Dumbledore gave a pointed nod in the direction of the children at the table, and Remus gave him a slight nod of his head in understanding. Hermione, Molly, Arthur, and Sirius all noticed but knew not to say anything. After a good twenty minutes of polite conversation and eating, Molly took everyone's empty plate's to the sink with a flick of her wand.

Dumbledore sat up from his chair and was about to offer to help clean the table, when they all heard a knock at the door. Dumbledore, who was closest to the door, took out his wand from his pocket and slowly opened the door.

"Severus," Dumbledore said in surprise, "I did not expect to see you so soon."

Snape walked in through the door, and him and Dumbledore walked into the dining room together. Sirius as always gave him a cold glare, while Remus tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny did not know what to think of him, so kept their faces blank. Fred and George had joined Sirius by glaring at him too, not trusting their Potions Master.

"Severus needs to speak to us, Molly, Arthur, Sirius, and Remus. Please join us in the living room." Dumbledore said, making a point to the kids not to come.

"Why not us? Me and Fred are of age!" George spoke, obvious anger in his voice.

"You have news on Harry, don't you? Why can't we join?" Ron spoke up as well.

"Silence!" Molly yelled in a scolding tone, "None of you have a choice in the matter, you are not joining the Order!"

"_We_ didn't ask to join the Order," Ron said, pointing to Hermione, Ginny, and himself, "But we all should know how Harry's doing. Apart of the Order or not."

Molly huffed angrily at her children, about to scold them again, but Arthur put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Molly, Ron has a point. They should know how Harry is doing, he is their friend after all." He said in a calm voice.

Not about to give her a chance to respond, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George hurried out of their seats and joined the adults walking into the living room. When everyone was settled in a seat, Remus spoke up.

"What do you know? How is Harry?" He asked.

"Potter... he wasn't okay before, but I was able to slip him a Pain Reliever Potion on his tray with his food this morning." Snape answered in a choked voice.

"What happened to him? What did the bastard do?" Sirius asked, his voice sharp.

"I don't think the children should be in here to hear this." Dumbledore said, watching Snape glance at them.

"Is it _that_ bad?" Arthur asked in a shocked voice.

"I'm afraid it is." Dumbledore replied.

"We don't care how bad it is," Ginny spoke up before anyone else could, "We want to know what happened."

Snape sighed and bit his bottom lip, and pondered whether or not he should tell them, but he knew that they would figure it out somehow, they always did.

"The Dark Lord is losing patience with Potter," He began, "He won't give him any information and he uses too much sarcasm. He is usually being dragged away from the Dark Lord unconscious by the end of their conversations."

Everyone in the room was hanging on to every word he spoke, and he stopped speaking for a moment so they could process everything he just told them before he continued.

"But last night the Dark Lord had enough, he lost it for a moment. I could not believe what he had the other Death Eaters join him in, it was sick and cruel." Snape shuddered as the memory played out in his head for a moment.

Worried and concerned looks were etched on everyone's faces, and they waited for Snape to finally tell them what was so bad that happened to Harry.

"He and three other Death Eaters put Harry under the Cruciatus Curse at the same time," Horrified gasps rang throughout the room, "But I couldn't do it, all I could do was watch. I could not believe what I was seeing, all I knew was that I could do was slip him a potion afterwards to help with the pain. He was still unconscious this morning when I slipped him the potion in his cell."

Molly had tears streaming down her face, and Arthur hugged her tightly to him. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George did not know how the pain felt of the curse, but knew it hurt bad enough with just one curse, they couldn't imagine having four put on themselves at the same time. Sirius put his head in his hands, hiding his face from everyone, while Remus just stared at nothing, a look of shock upon his face._ This isn't good, Harry's going to be insane by the time we find him_, Remus couldn't help but think.

"I thought you just told me last night Voldemort wouldn't do anything to make him nutters, that he needed Harry!" Sirius said to Dumbledore angrily.

"Just as Severus said, it seems Voldemort finally lost patience with him, and will do anything to make Harry talk. What is it that Voldemort is asking him to tell, Severus?" Dumbledore said.

"The Dark Lord keeps asking about your plans for him and his Death Eaters, Albus. And he keeps asking about the contents of the Prophesy." Severus replied.

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his hand across his face, while the kids looked up in confusion, and Molly, Arthur, Remus, and Sirius look appalled.

"But Harry doesn't know anything about your plans, why would you even tell him? And the Prophesy, Harry knows nothing about the Prophesy." Remus muttered, sounding as if he was explaining it to a small child.

"I didn't want Harry to find out about the Prophesy this way." Sirius said, his eyes shut tight.

"Excuse me, but what Prophesy are you talking about?" Hermione asked from her place on the couch.

"There was a Prophesy made long ago about Voldemort and Harry, and it is the key to destroying Voldemort for good." Arthur told her.

"The Dark Lord is determined to find out everything that it says, and assumes Harry knows it by now." Snape told them.

"But he doesn't." Ron muttered with a sigh.

"Exactly, and that is why we need to hurry up and find him soon. Remus, would you please show me the anagram Harry sent earlier?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus nodded and got off his couch and hurried into the kitchen were they had set it last night, grabbed it and went back into the room, and handed it to Dumbledore. He held it close to his face, reading it and muttering the words under his breath. Dumbledore then did as Remus did last night, and summoned a piece of parchment and a quill.

"We tried to figure it out last night, Professor. But nothing made sense." Fred said as they watched Dumbledore write something down.

"Ah, but you will find that I am particularly skilled with riddles, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore told him, crossing out something he wrote down and was writing something new.

No one spoke as Dumbledore studied the piece of parchment, and tried out a word he thought it might form on his own piece. Suddenly realization crossed his old face, and pointed at words on the parchment and puzzled them together in his brain. He wrote down a word or two on his piece of parchment and circled it, then pushed it over towards were Snape sat, who gave a small nod of his head. Then he pushed it over to where Sirius and Remus sat. Sirius picked up the parchment and read the circled words, then handed it to Remus with a look of dread on his face.

"You've got to be joking," Remus muttered with wide eyes, "That's the last place I would of checked!"

"What does it say?" Molly asked.

"If you will excuse me, I need to call our Order Members that are in the Auror Department." Dumbledore muttered, getting out of his seat and going over to the fire.

Remus pushed the parchment towards them, and the kids plus Molly and Arthur stretched their necks to read the words. _Little Hangleton_.

* * *

Sleep came on and off to Harry for the rest of the day, and he desperately tried not to think more about what would happen to him in this hell. He just wished he was back at Grimmauld Place with Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley's, eating dinner and chatting happily like the day he was captured. It felt like he had taken that for granted before, because he had been worried over what everyone would think of him to even appreciate what had been in front of him. And now it was gone, and for how long he did not know. Then, he heard the dreaded footsteps come down the hallway, and the familiar mutter by the doorway to unlock the door.

Harry looked up as the door opened and found it was a single short Death Eater this time, Voldemort must of thought Harry didn't have much of a fight left in him anymore after yesterday. How wrong he was. As the masked Death Eater made to grab him by the arm, Harry swung his arm around and punched him square in the face, sending the man stumbling into the wall behind him. The mask on his face fell off and revealed none other than Peter Pettigrew.

"You!" Harry gasped, anger rising quickly inside him.

Peter did not answer, but pulled his wand out and pointed it in Harry's direction. He made another grab at Harry, feeling bolder because of the wand in his hand, but Harry still reacted. He kicked out and hit Peter in the thigh, making Peter give a small whimper of pain. Now it was Peter who reacted. He muttered a spell under his breath, and it hit Harry square in the chest. Harry sagged against the wall, unable to move any of his limbs, and Peter lifted him up with his wand and floated Harry with him down the corridors.

Harry could feel his temper rising, and cursed out Peter inside his head and wished nothing more than to shout them out at him, but found he couldn't. When they reached the door that held Voldemort behind it, anger quickly turned into fear. _What would happen to him now?_ He knew he wasn't going to give Voldemort anything he asked. Peter pushed the door open with his metal hand, and they found Voldemort sitting alone on his thorn chair. Without a word Peter undid the curse on Harry, which made him fall onto his knees, and shut the door as he left.

"Do you feel like talking now, Potter? The pain too much to take anymore?" Voldemort asked, his tone sarcastic.

"I can handle it." Harry muttered, refusing to look up at Voldemort.

"For now, but later you might think otherwise." Voldemort told him with a small chuckle.

_If I can think at all_, Harry thought bitterly. He did not answer, but he waited for Voldemort to continue. Voldemort studied him for a minute, he looked both curious and confused at the same time.

"You seem to be handling the pain from last night better than I expected." He muttered with a hand on his chin.

"It wears off after a while." Harry lied.

"Good, I can't have you going insane on me yet, Potter. I still need that information from you."

Harry gave a small snort. He found he was oddly amused that Voldemort was still trying to get him to talk. Voldemort ignored him with a grimace.

"Now, the Prophesy. I suggest you start talking now, or you'll the target of my next curse." Voldemort threatened.

"What's there to talk about it? I haven't got the slightest clue about what your talking about." Harry told him.

Voldemort glared at him, and Harry could see anger rising to his face. _This isn't good_, Harry thought vaguely. Voldemort then pointed his wand at Harry, and he clenched his fingers into fists on his knee. Harry then felt as if a long claw was scraping down his back, the nails digging into his flesh. This time he couldn't hold back his cry of pain. He arched his back as if to escape it, but it only followed him. Harry closed his eyes to hide some of the pain he was in, and could feel the blood start to soak through his shirt in the back.

"Enough cheek, Potter! I want to know about the Prophesy, and_ now__!_" Voldemort shouted at him as he waved his wand threateningly towards Harry.

"Don't you need me alive to trade off for your Death Eaters with Dumbledore?" Harry asked suddenly.

"That isn't for another few days, Potter. And I did not promise to have you in any good condition, just that I would bring you to trade." Voldemort snapped at him.

Harry grimaced at his words, and knew they were true. _A few days_, he then thought hopefully._ Then I'll be back with Remus, Sirius, and the Weasley's. You can hold up until then_. The thought somehow comforted him. Harry tried to ignore the warm blood that was now trickling down his back, Harry looked up at Voldemort.

"What do _you_ know about the Prophesy?" Harry asked curiously.

"All I know is that there was to be a boy born at the end of July to parents who had escaped me three times. That the boy would have the power to vanquish me somehow." Voldemort responded with coldness.

Harry shuddered. That was why Voldemort came after him when he was a baby? Because he heard about a stupid Prophesy! Harry remembered Professor McGonagall telling him in his third year that not all Prophesy's had to be fulfilled, that you could go about your life without even acknowledging it.

"So that's the reason why you tried to kill me? Why you _want_ to kill me? Because of some bloody _Prophesy_?!" Harry tried to yell, but his voice was hoarse.

"I cannot kill you until I know everything of what that Prophesy says." Voldemort told him.

"Now I'm convinced I should tell you." Harry scoffed under his breath.

Harry's head felt like it was spinning. This was the reason that everything happened to him?_ It's the secret weapon_, he thought suddenly. _Sirius knew about the Prophesy then why didn't he tell me?_ Harry felt somewhat betrayed, he out of anyone should know what this Prophesy said. Closing his eyes as if to calm himself, Harry took a deep breath.

"You know as much about the Prophesy as I do, then." Harry said.

"Liar." Voldemort hissed.

"Honesty," Harry muttered, but knew it was useless.

He gave a soft groan as he was hit with a Cutting Curse hit the back of his hand, and felt the blood start to trickle down his hand. If Voldemort kept hitting him with these, Harry would bleed out before Voldemort got him to talk. Harry sighed, then looked back at Voldemort defiantly.


	6. Chapter 6: Breaking Point

Dumbledore was speaking to Kingsley in the fireplace, and Snape had left when he felt his Dark Mark burn shortly after his talk with everyone. Sirius wouldn't stop pacing around the room, wondering what they might need to bring with them for Harry, while Remus, Molly, and Arthur were arguing with Ron and Hermione

"You are not going on the rescue!" Mrs. Weasley all but yelled.

"But-" Ron tried to put in, but was cut off.

"I said no, Ronald! It's too dangerous, and you both are underage!" Mrs. Weasley continued.

"Not to be rude or anything Mrs. Weasley, but we don't care if its safe or not. Harry's our friend, and we've been through worse than this." Hermione spoke up.

Molly looked shocked at Hermione's outburst, as did Remus and Arthur. They had never heard Hermione talk to an adult like that before, and knew she only would if she needed to make a point.

"We could go under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and we'll promise not to be seen. We could even hide Harry under it when we find him." Ron added quickly as Hermione nodded in agreement.

"What do you think, Remus?" Arthur asked.

"Well," Remus started with a hand on his chin, "If they do promise to stay under the Cloak at all times, and promise not to join if a fight breaks out, I think they might be able to come. And like Ron said before, they might be able to hide or help Harry when we find him."

Molly lips were trembling, as if she were holding back a scream or tears, but gave a small nod when Arthur hugged her sideways to himself.

"Fine. You win, you can go. But you mustn't be seen, and you have to promise you to stay under the Cloak at all times, no matter what." Molly told them sternly.

"We promise." Ron and Hermione said at the same time.

That would leave the twins and Ginny at Grimmauld Place to wait for all of them to come back later with Harry. Hermione then ran up the stairs and into Ron and Harry's room, and fetched the Cloak out of Harry's school trunk on the floor. Dumbledore pulled his head out of the fireplace when she came back down, and looked like the old man that he was.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, who was closest to him.

"It's Fudge. He heard Kingsley and I talking on the Floo, and he's coming over soon to get an explanation as to why I want some of his Auror's. I didn't feel like I should tell him of Harry's kidnapping before this, I knew he would see it as a hoax. But I'll make sure he see's reason this time." Dumbledore said firmly.

"What about me, Dumbledore? Where do I go when he comes?" Sirius asked in a small voice.

"Go upstairs with the children. I'll tell Fudge that you passed ownership of this house to me before you were sent to Azkaban, and I'm using it as a safe house at the moment. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, will you accompany him?" Dumbledore answered.

Sirius, Ron, and Hermione nodded, and hurried up the stairs without a second thought. Molly and Arthur left the room, given if the talk did not go well Arthur's job wouldn't be in jeopardy. Remus and Dumbledore waited in the room and watched for the fire to lit up at any moment. Then, an old wizard in dark blue robes entered the room from the fire, and laid eyes on Dumbledore.

"So," Fudge began without preamble, "Will you tell the reason why_ you_ are ordering _my_ Auror's in _my_ Ministry?"

"Fudge," Dumbledore began with a sigh, "You need to listen to me. Right as this moment Harry Potter is in the hands of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. At this moment I do not care if you believe he is back, nor do I have the patience for you to come and stop me from saving him. I need Auror's there to help me rescue Harry, he has been there for days now and is very weak. You out of all people should know how those kind of people will treat him, Cornelius. Please, listen to reason."

Fudge looked up at Dumbledore and pondered over what he should do or not, and then gave a defeated sigh. He then walked over to the fireplace, threw some floopowder in, and yelled,

"Auror Department!"

* * *

Voldemort looked back at Harry and gave a humorless chuckle.

"I'm sick of you playing dumb, Potter. You know more than your telling me, so you better start talking now."

Harry looked away and closed his eyes, he did not want to see the look of anger on his ugly face. He knew the pain was coming, and tensed his body.

"_Crucio!_" Voldemort shouted.

Harry fell sideways as the curse hit him, his body twitching and squirming. Harry arched his back of the floor, his body tried to find a way to escape the pain, but it only hurt more when he tried. Harry bit his lip again, he wasn't going to scream. The dried blood from last time was still there, he could taste it in his mouth, and took tiny gaps of air from the little opening on the side of his mouth. Finally, after what had seemed like hours to Harry, the curse was taken off him.

Voldemort couldn't see it, but Harry knew he was starting to reach his breaking point. He did not know how much longer he could take this pain, he knew Voldemort said he would trade Harry for his remaining Death Eaters in Azkaban, but Harry didn't know if he could last that long. Death started to seem more preferable than this hell he was being put through. Harry thought back to the anagram he sent Sirius and Remus, but knew it was helpless. All it probably did was waste their time and gave them useless hope.

"Feel like talking now?" Voldemort hissed with anger dripping in his voice as Harry sat back up.

"Do you really think Dumbledore would tell a fifteen year old kid his plans for you, for anything for that matter? I went without a scrape of news all summer, and had only been at Headquarters for a few days when you took me. If you would of probably waited one more damn day you would have answers!" Harry blurted out, getting sick and tired of being asked the same question almost everyday.

Voldemort had a flicker of shock on his face from Harry's outburst, but hid it quickly. Then he just stared at him with his forehead creased as he studied the Boy-Who-Lived that sat in front of him, bloody and weak.

"Maybe Dumbledore didn't tell you then, but what else do you know?" Voldemort asked.

"What else do I know? Nothing. Because your impatient arse couldn't wait." Harry replied with sarcasm thick in his voice.

Voldemort shouted a unfamiliar spell at Harry with a flick of his wand, and Harry heard and felt the bone in his left arm snap. He gave a small cry of pain as he reached his other hand to the one that laid limp on his lap, and cradled it gently. His body decided he had enough, because all he could feel was pain, and with that Harry fell sideways for the second time that day, only this time unconscious.

* * *

After talking about the mission with the Auror's that were member's of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore and Fudge had both talked about the mission, and agreed to it. It took shorter than Dumbledore thought to persuade Fudge into helping, but by telling him Harry's life could be at cost if he did not help was what convinced Fudge in the end.

The plan was simple; apparate in the cell when Snape let down the protective spells around it, grab Harry without being seen, and get the hell out of there. After that they did not know what they would do, probably take Harry to see Madam Pomfrey, or St. Mungos if he is in a worse condition than they had hoped.

After Fudge left for the Ministry, Sirius came back down with Ron and Hermione, who all looked scared somewhat, but determined. Molly and Arthur walked back into the room as well, and sat down on one of the couch's as they talked in low voices. Remus walked the kids over to the other couch and started to tell them what would be happening. Dumbledore waited by the fireplace, waiting for Snape to send a Patronus when the spells around Harry were lifted.

Sirius, on the other hand, sat down on a chair in the corner of the living room and tried to stop his body from trembling with fear. He was scared of what condition they would find Harry in when they rescued him, to see Harry in a bloody heap on the ground. Sirius gave a small shudder. He knew how Voldemort would treat him, how with a simple flick of his wand he could send Harry into a world of pain, or even end his life. _Stop thinking like that_, Sirius mentally scolded himself, _Harry is alive_.

He looked over to Moony with Ron and Hermione, and found all three of them looking how he felt. Remus met his eyes and tried to give him a smile, but it looked forced and out of place. Molly and Arthur were still talking, and Dumbledore was twisting his wand in his hands nervously. Then suddenly and Patronus Doe floated through the wall, and stopped right in front of Dumbledore.

"It is time." It spoke in Snape's voice.

Remus and Sirius got quickly out of the their seats, while Ron, Hermione, and Arthur stared at the doe in curiosity. Molly patted Arthur on the shoulder to get up, and walked over towards the two teenagers still on the couch.

"I want you both to apparate with us under the Cloak, just in case someone is in there." Molly told them sternly, but her voice cracked at the end.

They nodded, and Ron threw the Cloak over both himself and Hermione, and walked over towards Remus.

"Is everyone ready?" Dumbledore asked, looking over everyone in the room.

"Yes." Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Hermione said at the same time, while Remus and Sirius nodded.

"Apparate in a few minutes after I do, I will disguise myself as a guard outside of the door with the help of Severus. The Auror's will be posted outside in case we need their assistance" Dumbledore told them.

And with that Dumbledore left with a small '_pop_!'. Remus could hear small nervous gasp's near him, but didn't know if it belonged to either Hermione or Ron. Sirius gripped his wand tightly in his hand, prepared to leave at a moment's notice. Molly was hand in hand with Arthur to Side-Apparate with him.

"It's time to go." Arthur said after a few minutes, and gripped Molly's hand more tightly.

Both Ron and Hermione gripped one of Remus's arms, and closed their eyes under the Cloak. Sirius grabbed onto his free arm, and with that all four of them disappeared with an audible '_pop!_'.

* * *

"_Ennervate_."

Harry groaned as he regained consciousness, his head pounded from hitting the ground so hard. He looked around himself, expecting to see the walls of his cell, but to his horror he was still in the same room as Voldemort. Harry tried to get up, but his left arm hung uselessly at his side, and the pain was to much. He slumped back onto the ground, and glared up at Voldemort angrily.

"Why am I still here?" Harry asked coldly.

"I was being too easy on you by letting you rest in your little cell after our talks. The weaker you are, the easier it might be to break you." Voldemort replied with the same amount of coldness.

Harry looked down at the ground and closed his eyes, and tried to think fast. But his brain was sluggish, he was still trying to take in everything that was going on._ What was he going to do?_ He wouldn't bow down and give Voldemort what he wanted, that was unacceptable. But Voldemort keeping him here until he did crack? Harry was starting to panic, he didn't know what he was going to do.

"Wormtail!" Voldemort suddenly called.

Harry snapped his eyes open and turned his head to look at the door, and watched as Peter walked in, trembling head to toe.

"Yes, Master?" He asked nervously.

"Is Snape almost done with the Veritaserum?" Voldemort asked him.

Harry's eyes snapped back to Voldemort, his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. _Veritaserum?_ Did Harry hear him right? There was no way he could take the potion, he could give away too much! Voldemort could ask him anything and he would have to answer truthfully, he couldn't.

"He said it will be ready tomorrow, my Lord." Wormtail replied in a squeaky voice.

Voldemort nodded, and Wormtail bowed to him quickly before he left the room. Voldemort looked back at Harry, and gave him a sinister smirk.

"I'm done messing around, Potter. And if I don't get answers by the end of today, I certainly will tomorrow."

Harry gulped. This had gotten bad, and there was nothing he could do about it. Voldemort was finally going to get some of his questions answered, and then Harry would be no more use to him. He was as good as dead now. _At least the pain will end_. Harry thought vaguely. Somehow the thought comforted him, but in a weird way.

"But it doesn't have to be that way, Harry. You could just give me the answers that I want-" Voldemort started.

"And then what? You kill me?" Harry cut in.

Voldemort flicked his wand and Harry received another cut on his right arm.

"That depend's. You either be good and wait in your cell until Dumbledore give's me my remaining Death Eaters, or I can reunite you with your meddlesome parents." Voldemort sneered at him.

Harry bit back the rude comment he wanted to yell at Voldemort, and took a deep breath. He waited for Voldemort to continue on.

"Let's begin, Potter."


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome Back

Remus, Sirius, Arthur, Molly, Ron and Hermione all apparated into a small, dark, cold cell inside the Riddle House and shivered as the cold air hit their skin. Remus gripped both of Ron and Hermione so that he knew where they were, and they all looked around at their surroundings. Molly then gave a sudden small whimper, and all eyes snapped in her direction. Instead of answering she pointed with a trembling hand to a corner of the cell, and they all looked.

A alarming amount of blood was pooled on the floor with bloody handprints surrounding and gasps rang around them. Remus put a finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet, and peered into the small bared window on the door. There was a guard outside, but he didn't know if it was Dumbledore in disguise or not.

"It is I, Remus." The guard suddenly spoke, and turned as he took his mask off.

The old face of Albus Dumbledore looked at him, and Remus nodded his head. Dumbledore put the mask back on, and Remus turned towards the others. He, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, Arthur, and Molly huddled in a corner of the cell, close to the door so they wouldn't be seen and they could grab Harry quickly. Hermione and Ron took their faces out of the cloak and looked around the cell more. Sirius glanced over at them and instantly regretted bringing them here as he noticed their eyes never left the small puddle of Harry's blood. Sirius pulled away from his thoughts when he thought he could hear voices echoing down the corridor, but didn't need to strain his ears when the shouting began.

"What does the Prophesy say!?" Everyone heard Voldemort shout.

Remus and Sirius glanced at each other as they both heard the slight note of insanity behind the voice. Molly gasped and Arthur hugged her to him, while Ron and Hermione looked at each other, the only thing they knew about the Prophesy was that it was the key to defeating Voldemort.

"I don't know about the bloody Prophesy you _git_!" Harry yelled back, his voice hoarse.

"_Crucio_!" Voldemort shouted, and Harry screamed in agony.

Sirius and Remus had to grab hold of Ron and Hermione, who had tried to make their way for the door. They both looked outraged as they were dragged back, but Hermione broke into a silent sob as Harry's screams got louder.

"We can't do anything for him right now, we can't be discovered." Sirius muttered, but failed to keep his voice calm.

After a few more seconds, Harry's screams died out. Molly was frozen in her spot while Arthur held her, wishing nothing more than to help Harry and save him from the pain that was being inflicted on him.

"What's the point in fighting me, Potter? You know you will lose, you know that I will end up killing all your little friends! You're going to die, way not just take the easy way?" Voldemort yelled, not bothering to keep his voice calm.

"Kill me then! I'm tired of you saying you will, why don't you just do it then!?" Harry shouted as he let his anger get the best of him.

The next thing that happened no one was prepared for. The small group heard Voldemort shout, Harry give another small scream of pain, and heard something that sickly sounded like a body drop to the floor. Everyone nervously glanced at one another, had Voldemort finally killed Harry? Hermione trembled in Remus' arms as did Molly in Arthur's arms. Sirius listened hard, and thought he could hear something coming their way. He then made a signal for everyone to be quiet, and waited.

They all listened as the door unlocked, and watched it open. Two masked Death Eaters dragged Harry inside and dropped him in the corner of cell next to his own blood stained on the floor and wall, and hurried out of the room without noticing the group. Harry's breathing sounded shallow, and he struggled to sit himself up. When he finally did, Harry clutched at something at the bottom of his stomach, and pulled something out of his skin with a sickening squelch sound.

"Muggle weapon." Harry muttered curiously in a weak voice as he set the dagger aside.

Harry gave another shaky breath and gripped his lower stomach as he tried to stop the blood flow. Sirius could wait no longer, and he hurried over and hugged Harry close to him. Harry gasped and closed his eyes tight, in fear it was another Death Eater. He realized after a moment the hands holding him were gentle, and not as rough. Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Sirius incredulously with wide eyes.

"H-how-?" Harry sputtered, but Sirius held a finger up to quiet him.

"Not now. We have to get you out of here, and quickly." Sirius whispered and beckoned someone over.

Remus and Ron hurried over, and helped Sirius pick up Harry. He looked up at them with an open mouth, shocked to see them in his little cell. Before Harry could press the matter on, he coughed violently, and spit blood out of his mouth. Hermione, Molly, and Arthur finally approached him, and only had fear and concern for him on their faces. Remus waved his wand quickly over the wound on Harry's stomach but gave a shake of head, he didn't know how to heal it, and ended up wrapping a piece of cloth tightly around the wound. Sirius then lifted Harry up and Ron kept a grip on his waist so he wouldn't fall.

Remus went back over to Hermione and held out his hand to her, and she took it with a shaky hand but managed to grip it tight. Molly and Arthur tore their eyes away from Harry and focused on there next destination. Sirius made sure Ron was in some way touching his arm so he would come with them, and with that they apparated back to Grimmuald Place.

As soon as their feet landed in Grimmauld Place Harry collapsed to the ground, and not expecting it, Sirius fell down with him. Ron, who accidently let go of Harry when they arrived, dropped to his knees by Harry and Sirius while everyone else came rushing over to them. Now, in the light, they all could see the bad shape Harry was in.

Blood and bruises were the only thing that had color on his face, and he had cuts on about anywhere on his body. His hair was wild, matted with blood, sweat, and dirt. His glasses were missing from his face, which made the bags and dullness of his eyes stand out. Blood had dried on most of the wounds, but some still oozed slowly. The red scar on his forehead stood out more than before and looked irritated. His once light blue shirt had ripped and soaked with his own blood and dirt, and hung more loose on him than before. The jeans he wore were also loose and stained with blood, only held up by the belt he still wore.

"Help me get him on the couch, and someone call Madam Pomfrey or a Healer from Mungos!" Sirius yelled frantically.

Ron went to put his arms under Harry's back, but he gave a cry of pain, and Ron moved his hands as if they had been burned. Instead he put his arms under Harry's leg while Remus got the other and Sirius held him up with a grip under his arms, and together they hoisted Harry onto the closet couch. Molly was at the fireplace frantically talking to someone unknown, while Sirius and Remus were checking over Harry in the best way they could.

Then Dumbledore walked in through the front door and hurried into the room where they all were, and set Harry's wand on the table. Ron and Hermione looked at it with confusion on their faces, but knew now was not the best time to ask. On the couch Harry was barely awake with Remus, Sirius, and now Dumbledore looking over him. Arthur had gone upstairs to keep the twins and Ginny away, until Harry looked better than he did now. Ron and Hermione were only allowed to stay because they had already seen Harry, and the adults knew they couldn't keep them away even if they tried. Molly pulled her head out of the fire a moment later and wiped a hand across her tear-streaked face.

"Madam Pomfrey is on the way, all the Healers at St. Mungos are busy at the moment. One will be over to help later if we need it." Molly told them.

She came over to Harry and bent down close to him. Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore backed away unwillingly, only because Molly was the best at Healing Charms in the house at the moment. She muttered something under her breath that made the tip of her wand glow and ran it over Harry's body. As soon as she finished with it, there were more tears running down her face. They all knew right away that it wasn't a good sign, and couldn't find their voices to ask her what was wrong. Molly then conjured a wet towel and started to wipe away the blood on Harry's face and tried to help him get some of it out of his mouth, but he continued to cough up blood a little at a time.

"I still think we should just take him to St. Mungo's, Sirius. They would make room for him." Molly said in a cracked voice.

"No, you know how much Harry hates attention from the public, he would rather be here. He's getting better medical attention here anyway, and I'll be able to stay with him." Sirius told her.

For once, Molly did not argue with him, but continued to wipe Harry's face. Harry was in and out of it at the moment, barely aware of what was happening. After a few moments of nothing but breathing and shaky sighs, the fireplace lit up. Madam Pomfrey hurried out of it, a bag clasped tightly in her hand as she made her way over to Harry on the couch. Dumbledore conjured a plush chair for her to sit in and she grabbed her wand out of her pocket, and muttered the same spell as Molly did before.

"He isn't in the best of shape," She told them unnecessarily, "A broken rib, a broken arm, barely healed head injury, cuts, bruises, a punctured lung, signs of overexposure to the Cruciatus Curse, loss of blood, you name it. I'm surprised he wasn't driven to insanity."

"He isn't insane, right?" Ron asked shakily from the couch he sat on with Hermione and his mum.

"No, Mr. Weasley. He doesn't show the signs." Madam Pomfrey answered to everyone's relief.

Madam Pomfrey then swished her wand in front of her, and Harry's shirt suddenly disappeared. In the light made him look ten times worse. The light made his skin look like a shining white, the blood and cuts standing out on it. He looked more underfed than usual, and you could make out where exactly his ribs were. Harry's chest rose slowly, hardly at all.

Ron and Hermione held each other's hands tight and focused their eyes on his heart beating slowly in his chest. Molly and Dumbledore looked horrified and angry, with their hands trembling at their sides. Sirius and Remus focused on Harry's face with his eyes closed and his lips drawing in rattling breaths. The thought of what Voldemort had put him through brought them close to tears.

Madam Pomfrey worked her wand over the knife injury on his stomach along with his lung while muttering under her breath as she waved her wand over the cut area, looking as though she was sewing air together. None of them got to see how she fixed the wound before she conjured a thick white bandage to put over it. Madam Pomfrey then summoned a small bottle of Dittany, and started dropping a few drops on the cuts on his stomach, arms, and legs.

Harry squirmed as she did this, but did not fully wake up. Madam Pomfrey then pointed her wand at his rib's, and gave it a flick with her wrist. A loud snap punctured the air and Harry gave a strangled groan, but his eyes did not open.

"I need someone to help me flip him over, I know there's a few cuts on his back." Madam Pomfrey asked.

Remus came over from the wall he was leaning on and dropped down onto his knees by Harry. Madam Pomfrey started to gently pull Harry onto his back by his shoulders, while Remus went over and started to flip his legs over, but Harry unconsciously gripped the edge of the couch with his fingers to stop them.

"I think we need him fully awake, it'll help more so he can tell me what hurts." Madam Pomfrey said.

With a reluctant nod of his head, Sirius agreed. There wasn't the time to argue and he knew he should trust her more than he did at the moment. Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Harry, and Remus noticed her hand trembled slightly as she did so.

"_Ennervate_." She whispered.

Harry groaned tiredly but didn't open his eyes. He body stayed tense on the couch, as if waiting for something to hit him. Even though they understood why he would react like he had it still angered them. Remus reached out a hand from where he was kneeled and touched Harry gently on the shoulder. Harry flinched violently when his hand made contact, and only shut his eyes tighter.

"Harry," Remus said with a slight tremble in his voice.

Harry's eyes then snapped wide open and looked wildly around the room. His mouth opened in shock as he looked at everyone, as if hardly believing they were right in front of him. He went to sit up with his arms supporting him, but he gave a small whimper and sagged back onto the couch. He couldn't keep his eyes away from Sirius or Remus, which flickered back and forth to see them both.

"H-how did you-?" Harry sputtered for the second time with his eyebrows pulled together.

From what they all could tell, he remembered nothing of the rescue, and couldn't understand how they found him.

"I'll tell you later, I promise. But right now we need Madam Pomfrey to take a look at you." Sirius said in a small voice.

Harry nodded and looked up at the matron. She smiled at him sadly, and grabbed the bottle of Dittany from the place she set it.

"What hurts the most right now, Potter?" She asked gently.

"My left arm and my back." He told her in a cracked voice.

She nodded and gently rubbed her hand over his arm. Harry groaned and he closed his eyes and shook his head for her to stop. She did immediately, and looked more carefully at it.

"It seems all the bones in your arm are broken. Do you know what spell he used, Harry?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No," Harry answered, "He just shouted something I couldn't understand, and I heard my arm snap."

Dumbledore sat down in a chair behind the couch and tried to remain calm, but inside he was seething. Everyone else in the room did not try to hide how they felt, but let it show plain on their faces. Madam Pomfrey ran her wand down the length of his arm, muttering under her breath. They all then heard a big snap, Harry give a small wince, and then a sigh of relief.

"I need you to sit up and turn your back towards me, Harry." She instructed him, and tried not to notice the flicker of fear she saw in his eyes.

In truth, Harry didn't want her to look at the cuts on his back. For one, they hurt like hell, and for some odd reason, he didn't want anyone to see them. Summoning up his courage, Harry slowly turned around, and waited for everyone's reaction. Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore stared at his back with wide eyes, they could hardly believing what they were seeing. Sirius had his fist balled up at his side and anger showed on his face. Remus and Molly gasped when they saw the three long cuts on his back, and could feel tears welling in their eyes.

Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath when she saw the cuts, and set to work. She uncorked the bottle of Dittany in her hand, and dropped a few drops of it onto one of the cuts. Harry sucked in a deep breath and arched his back when he felt the liquid hit the cut, but nothing happened, the cut smoked slightly but didn't heal. Confused, she ran her wand down the wound while she muttered a spell, and a look of understanding crossed her old features.

"It was done by dark magic, it'll have to heal by itself." She said quietly.

Harry didn't say anything, but rested his head on his hands, and winced slightly at the pain in his muscles. The adults desperately tried to remain calm, while Ron and Hermione sucked in deep breaths.

"Why did he do it?" Ron asked in shock.

Harry looked up from his place on the couch, and gave Ron a small smile. He was actually glad that he had asked what everyone was thinking, but reluctantly told him.

"Because I didn't know about the Prophesy." He muttered.

Ron nodded and leaned back into the couch, and rubbed at his eyes. Hermione looked at him while tears streamed down her face, but she gave him a small smile. He tried to smile back, but knew it didn't look sincere. Madam Pomfrey summoned bandages out of thin air, and started to apply them onto Harry's back. He arched his back as she put them on, they had some type of medicine on them that stung the open wounds. When she finished, she put his shirt back on him, and waved her wand carefully around him.

"There's still more that I need to heal." She told him.

He looked up at her and nodded, and with that she went back to work over his weak and bloody body.


	8. Chapter 8: Healing and Revealing

Madam Pomfrey ran her wand over Harry for what seemed like the millionth time, and they all watched as the end of it glowed when she past Harry's stomach. She muttered something under he breath, and she seemed to of found the problem.

"Your lung is punctured. There is only so much magic can do for the outside, so I need you to be careful even after I heal it." She told Harry carefully.

He nodded up to her and then locked his on the wall again, he didn't want to look at anyone in the room. Waving her wand in front of her, Madam Pomfrey spent a few minutes muttering a spell and waving her wand around Harry's stomach. Then he felt as though an ice dagger went through something inside of his stomach and shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the feeling. She then looked up at his head, and her eyes focused on the blood dried on his forehead and hair.

"How old is that head injury, Harry?" She asked as she gently moved his head closer so she could look.

She patted his head as carefully as she could, feeling for any bumps and cuts, but couldn't. Harry winced as she touched the back of his head and he let out a deep breath.

"First day I got there," He told her in a small voice, "Hit my head on the wall and got knocked out."

She nodded and pulled out the bottle of Dittany again, and poured a few drops over the back of his head. It smoked slightly and made it look as if his hair was on fire, and Harry tried to hide his discomfort. When she patted the area again, Harry couldn't feel anything, and it helped with the slight pounding in his head ease.

"Anything else that I need to heal?" She asked him gently.

If Harry didn't look uncomfortable then, he definitely did now. He tried to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room, but they all were looking at him. The same question was one all their minds, what was wrong?

"My muscles, their really sore." He told her in a whisper.

For a moment he thought he saw pity and sadness on her face, but it disappeared in a second.

"_Invenire dolor_," She muttered with her wand pointed at him.

A small wisp of smoke came out of her wand and flashed a bright red, then disappeared into nothing. She sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her bag, and put it on her lap and searched through the contents.

"What is it?" Molly asked, unfamiliar with the spell.

"It check's for the amount of soreness in a muscle in the body. Red is about the highest it can go. I haven't seen a case this bad since the First War. " She answered with a shaky voice.

There was an intake of breath around them, and Harry didn't look to see their reactions, he knew there was pity written on their faces. Finally Madam Pomfrey found what she was looking for, and she reached down in her bag and produced a small vial of potion.

"It's all I have right now, but I'll get you some more." She said as she uncorked the bottle.

"What is it?" Harry asked, straining to read the small letters written on the potion.

"It's a Pain Reliever Potion." She replied, and handed the vial to him.

"Someone slipped me one in Little Hangleton." Harry said as he suddenly remembered.

"We'll explain everything later, Harry. Let Madam Pomfrey finish tending to you, first." Dumbledore said hastily, knowing what Harry's reaction would be if he told him who helped him.

Harry gripped the vial tight in his hand and poured the potion down his throat with a look of disgust on his face. He set the vial down on a table by the end of the couch next to him, and closed his eyes as his stomach churned uncomfortably. Even though Harry felt hungry, the thought of food almost sent him running to the toilet. He hardly ate while he was in his cell, mostly because he hardly got any food, but because he was usually unconscious most of the time or he was in too much pain to notice his hunger. Now he wished he would of, he hated the nauseous feeling inside his stomach.

Just like before, the affect of the potion was almost immediate. Harry's stiff muscles seemed to relax and the pain that was in them dulled down, he felt as though he ran two miles non-stop. Finally feeling some kind of relief than what he had before, Harry let his body relax into the couch, and let his head fall back .

Sirius and Remus seemed saddened by his reaction to the potion, seeing how much Harry seemed to relax, even though there was still pain coursing through him. His endurance to pain was higher than they had thought. Molly watched him, caught between relief and pity as she saw him finally relax. She noticed when they first arrived back that even in his unconscious form his body was tense and alert. Dumbledore felt that he was to blame for everything that happened to Harry, that he should of have the wards look for certain types of magic on Severus when he came in, not to just allow him with _any_ type of dark magic on him. Ron and Hermione could barely watch him, images running in their heads of what could of happened to Harry that made him how was in front of them right now.

Mr. Weasley came back down then, with folded clothes resting in his arms as he came into the room. When he walked in he looked straight at Harry, and most people in the room thought he was going to faint. His eyes popped wide open as he mouth dropped open while his eyes scanned down Harry and his injuries. Walking almost numbly, he came over to Harry at set the pile of clothes on the arm of the couch.

"These are for you to change into when you're ready." He said quietly to Harry with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley." Harry croaked.

Mr. Weasley gave him a half-hearted smile, and gave Harry a very gentle pat on the shoulder. Arthur then walked over and sat close to Molly and grabbed her hand tightly. Madam Pomfrey walked over and grabbed a blanket folded on the couch behind Ron and Hermione and tossed it over Harry when she noticed him shivering slightly. He smiled at her in thanks, and wrapped the blanket tightly around his shoulders

"Harry," Dumbledore started as he got off his chair and came over to face Harry, "We need to discuss what happened up at the Riddle House."

"Albus." Sirius said sharply, and noticed the little color Harry had managed to get drain from his face.

"You know as well as I do that it'll help him, Sirius. It did last year." Dumbledore said and sat down on the coffee table in front of Harry.

"That was different," Harry whispered, his voice sounding strained, "I was with Voldemort for more than a week, Dumbledore. Last time it was only for over an hour."

"Still, I believe it will help you more than you think. It would be better for you get it off your chest." Dumbledore told him.

Harry closed his eyes, almost as if he were holding back a rude comment, which they guessed he was, and breathed out of his nose.

"What do you want to know?" Harry asked with a tremble in his voice.

"Everything, just start from the beginning." Dumbledore responded calmly.

Harry closed his eyes for a minute and gritted his teeth while images ran inside his head like a Muggle movie, refusing to leave his mind. Opening his eyes finally, he saw everyone was waiting with patience for him to start. When he began talking, he successfully kept his voice steady. He told them of how Voldemort threw him in the cell, every time he had been dragged to Voldemort by Death Eaters, everything Voldemort had asked him, the curses that had hit him, the torture, everything. When he started to talk about the being put under the Cruciatus Curse by Voldemort and his Death Eater's however, he found he couldn't keep his voice steady, his voice cracked and sounded more hoarse than before, and couldn't hide it as he finished telling his story.

When he stopped talking, they all could see there were tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. There was hardly any color in his face and his thin body was shaking, and his eyes were filled with pain and sadness. When he allowed himself to look around at everyone, he found they looked almost the same as him. Dumbledore was rubbing at his eyes, his mind trying to process everything that Harry had told him, and his face showed the anger he felt at the situation. Sirius sat at the other end of the couch by Harry's feet and let his head fall into his hands as tears fell off his nose and onto his trousers. Remus was still kneeled on the ground by Harry and had turned his head from anyone so they could not see his reaction. Molly grasped Arthur's hand tightly in her own as tears ran rapidly down her face, and her other hand tried to wipe them away fast.

Arthur and Ron both had the same reaction; they had open mouths and starred at the ground with disbelief written on their faces, horrified at what Harry was put through in a short amount of time. Hermione clutched Ron's arm and was sobbing soundlessly with her body trembling. Her mind wanted to believe that what had happened didn't, but the evidence right in front of her she knew she couldn't deny it. Madam Pomfrey looked horrified, and was trying to calm down her frantic heart as she searched through her bag once again.

"I need you to take a Blood Replenishing Potion once a day, along with a Soreness Relief. A Strengthening Solution at least twice a day. I'll send over some Bruise Remover for your face, arms, and legs, and I recommend a Lung Clearing Potion to help your lung heal. For now that's all I can do, and the Healer's from Mungos won't be necessary anymore." She told him and grabbed the available potions out of her bag and set them next to Harry.

She sat up from her chair and vanished it, and gently gave Harry a soft pat on his cheek as everyone else tried to get themselves together.

"If there is anything else you need from me, I'll be available at Hogwart's if you need me." She told him softly.

"Thanks." Harry managed to croak out, with his voice sounding choked.

She smiled at him and made her way to the Floo. As the fire turned green and Madam Pomfrey vanished, everyone sat in silence for a moment. Remus was the first to get up from his place on the floor, and reached over to grab the potion's by Harry.

"You should probably take these now." He said to Harry, who nodded.

He uncorked the bottle of Blood Replenishing Potion and handed it to Harry. He raised the bottle to his lips, and quickly drained it. For the first time in his life, Harry had a potion that didn't taste half bad, it tasted like Muggle cough medicine. Harry set the bottle on the table next to the other one sitting there, and then gave a big yawn.

"After you take these, do you want a Dreamless Sleep Potion to take?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding as tired as Harry felt.

Nodding his head, Harry took the remaining Potion's Remus handed him, and rested his body comfortably under the blanket. Harry looked around the room again and spotted his wand sitting on the table next to Ron and Hermione. _Good, someone found it_, he thought tiredly. He had thought before that it was lost it for good, and was happy to be wrong. Molly sat up from her spot by Arthur and hurried into the kitchen to find the Potion Sirius had requested. Sirius got up from the couch and kneeled next to Harry, and reached out to rub his arm gently. Harry laid his head down on the arm of the couch, and looked at Sirius with drooped eyes.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." Sirius said in a choked voice.

"There was nothing you could do, Sirius. It's not your fault." Harry told him in a whisper.

Remus nodded in agreement beside him, but Sirius knew Moony blamed himself too. They would talk about it later. Remus ran his fingers through Harry's hair soothingly, ignoring the fact it was matted with blood and dirt. A few minutes later Molly returned, a steaming goblet full of Dreamless Sleep.

Harry reached his arm out to take it from her, and muttered a thank you. Molly beamed down at him as a tear escaped her eye, and she went back over to Arthur on the other couch. Harry took a sip from the goblet, and instantly could feel the effects of the potion hit him. Someone grabbed the goblet out of his hand before he could drop it.

"We hope you feel better." He heard two voices call out to him, one female and the other one male, as if they were far away.

Harry's head slumped back onto arm of the couch, and could feel Remus still running his finger through his hair as Sirius tucked in the blanket around him. Harry faintly smiled at their acts, both of them acting like a father to him. Harry finally gave in and closed his eyes, and with that he fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in a while.

* * *

Harry could hear voices around him faintly, but couldn't make out what they were saying. From what he could hear it wasn't just a conversation between two people, but more like an argument. Harry turned his head to face the back of the couch, and ignored the slight pain in his neck as he did so. Finally accepting the fact he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, Harry kept his eyes open and tried to listen in on the conversation in the hallway.

"-I think I might be able to get Fudge to take another look at the case, and have him look for-" A familiar voice said.

"No, Dumbledore. He'll get suspicious, why would you have him look at the case now? It's been thirteen years." Sirius cut in.

"What I'm saying is that there were Auror's surrounding the Riddle House yesterday, they saw a handful of Death Eaters inside through the window. One of them could of seen Peter Pettigrew, and we could re-open the case as to why he is still alive, and a Death Eater at that." Dumbledore told him, and it sounded as if he were pacing.

"I don't know, I just don't want anything to go wrong and I end up back in Azkaban. It would kill Harry if I had to leave him, especially like this." Sirius said.

Harry thought over what they saying for a second. Dumbledore wanted to convince Fudge that Sirius was innocent? That seemed impossible, Fudge thought they were all crazy, claiming that a dead man had come back to life. Fudge wasn't on their side, not without solid evidence that Voldemort was walking around again, unleashing terror.

"I understand Sirius, but wouldn't you like to be able to walk around a free man? To be able to go into Diagon Alley without a disguise, and not have to look at wanted posters of yourself?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Let me think about it, Dumbledore, and I'll tell you when I've made up my mind." Sirius replied.

Harry didn't have time to think over it after that, because he could hear footsteps coming into the room, and he opened his eyes and turned his head to see who it was. Sirius walked in with a small plate of breakfast in his hand, and a glass of pumpkin juice in his other. He set it down on the coffee table in between the two couches, and looked at Harry. Sirius looked shocked when he saw Harry's eyes were open, but he recovered quick.

"Morning pup." He said quietly and ran his fingers through Harry's hair.

Harry smiled at the nickname, Sirius had started calling him 'pup' at the end of the last school year. Harry tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but his body refused to follow orders, and he slumped back against the couch.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked with concern laced in his voice.

"Yeah," Harry said in a strained voice, "Just a little sore and weak, that's all."

Sirius nodded and grabbed his wand out of his pocket. He waved it in a circular motion in his hand, doing a Non-Verbal spell. Harry watched as three vials flew in the air and rushed into the room to land in Sirius' waiting hand. He uncorked all of them, and gave one of them to Harry.

"Ugh," Harry muttered, looking down at the potion, "This ones disgusting."

"I know," Sirius said with a small laugh, "But you need to take it."

Harry brought the vial to his lips and quickly gulped it down. Sirius grabbed the ice cold glass of pumpkin juice off the table and gave it to Harry, who gratefully gulped some of it down.

"Thanks," Harry muttered, and hurriedly drained the remaining two potions down afterwards.

Harry set the vials down on the side table, and Sirius vanished them with a wave of his wand. Harry tried to hide the flinch that came when Sirius got his wand out, but Sirius had noticed. A frown on his face, Sirius knew why Harry reacted as such, and instantly felt guilty. Harry looked around the room quickly, looking for a quick distraction, and was glad when Sirius gave one.

"Molly made you some breakfast." Sirius said as he gestured to the steaming plate.

Harry shook his head, and his stomach heaved at the thought of eating food. Breathing out of his nose, Harry weakly sat up and took the blankets off of himself as he started to sweat.

"I _can't_, Sirius. Just the thought of eating makes me sick." Harry told him.

"Harry, you need to eat. At least try." Sirius told him, his voice stern.

"Fine, can you at least get me a waste basket if I do get sick?" Harry asked.

Sirius nodded and summoned the waste basket on the other side of the room, and set it next to Harry. He then grabbed a pillow on the couch and set it on Harry's lap, then set the plate of food on top of it. Harry eyed the food for a moment, then picked up the smallest piece of toast with jelly on it, and bit some of it off. He chewed slowly, taking his time before he had to swallow it down, and grimaced when he did.

He looked as though he was about to be sick, but for Sirius' benefit Harry bit off another piece, and swallowed quickly this time. Sirius saw his face turn green the moment before he reached for the waste basket of his side, and vomited into it. Sirius grabbed the food off of his lap and set it on the coffee table, and rubbed his back as he did, ignoring the smell of it and grabbed the glass of pumpkin juice once again for Harry when he finished.

Harry wiped his mouth off with his forearm, and quickly drained the glass of juice as Sirius cleaned him off with his flick of his wand. Sirius then vanished the contents in the basket and continued to rub Harry's back, and felt through the thin shirt that Harry had broke into cold-sweats.

"I'm sorry." Sirius muttered as he sat down on the couch beside him.

"S'not your fault." Harry told him, pulling the blanket on himself again.

Sirius pulled Harry against him, and Harry rested his head on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius put a hand on Harry's forehead and felt the thin sheet of sweat on it, and looked down to see Harry's face slightly flushed.

"Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins want to see you. Do you think that you'll be up for it?" Sirius asked him quietly.

"Yeah." Harry replied softly.

Sirius got up and tucked the blankets in around Harry, but left his feet out. He reached out his hand and patted Harry on the head lightly, and looked him in the eye.

"Then I'll go get them for you." He told him.

Harry nodded his thanks, and watched as Sirius left the room. Harry leaned against the couch and swallowed in disgust, he could still faintly taste vomit in his mouth. He started to think about Fred, George, and Ginny, how they would react when they saw when since he had been taken. Even though Harry hadn't seen how he looked yet, he knew he was a mess, and there was only so much magic could do.

Thinking about them more, Harry remembered thinking about Ginny in his cell, and twisted his hands together nervously. _You have to stop thinking about her like that, she's Ron's little sister, she's the little sister of six older boy's_. Harry gulped and shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought. He then could hear more than one pair of feet coming down the stairs, and knew Sirius had returned with the Weasley kids plus Hermione.

Harry watched the door and waited for them to appear any second. Ron had been the first one who came in, and waved at Harry and gave him a smile, which was returned. Hermione walked in next, and hurried over to Harry, and didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug as Ron sat right next to him. Harry thought he heard Ginny, Fred and George enter, but couldn't see them over Hermione's bushy hair. Hermione placed her hands on the middle of his back and pulled him close to her as she softly cried. Harry tried hard not to wince and arch his back, but when she unconsciously applied more pressure, he did.

"I'm so sorry, Harry!" She gasped as she realized what she did.

"I'm fine." He reassured her, and chose to ignore the look of disbelief she gave him.

Harry scooted over more so Hermione could sit next to Ron, and the twins and Ginny could sit on the couch as well. But looking up, Harry saw they were still in the doorway, looking at him with shocked and concerned faces. Looking down at himself, Harry realized with a jolt he was still in the clothes he had on when they found him, and they could see the outline of all the cuts and wounds he had.

"I'm okay, really, Madam Pomfrey fixed me up last night, I'm much better now." Harry told them, trying to comfort them the best he could.

He saw Ginny's lower lip tremble, but she didn't cry. Harry looked up at her and patted the left side of him, motioning her to sit next to him. With weak legs, she carried herself over and sat down next to Harry and carefully hugged him close. Being able to see over her shoulder, he saw Fred and George walk over as well, and sit on the floor in front of the couch to face them. Harry hugged Ginny back weakly, the potions still had yet to kick in.

"I didn't think we would see you again." She whispered in his ear, but everyone heard, and Harry knew about everyone had the thought the same as her at one point.

"Me either." Harry replied truthfully.

Letting go of him, Ginny looked at Harry more carefully, and was surprised she didn't notice a small detail when she walked in.

"What happened to you glasses?" She asked with a frown.

Harry brought his hand up to the top of his nose to feel for the frame of his glasses, but nothing was there. _How could he of not noticed?_ He was the one who wore them! But Harry thought of about it for a second, and remembered thinking the blood loss was the reason his vision had blurred, his glasses must of fell of during one of his sessions with Voldemort.

"I don't know, I don't even remember them falling off." He responded with honestly.

Ginny nodded and leaned back more into the couch. Fred and George were on either side of Harry's feet on the floor, and they smiled up at him when he looked down at them.

"So," Harry started as awkward silence fell on them, "Who figured out the anagram?" He asked.

"Dumbledore did. We all tried, but it was tricky, even for Hermione." Ron replied with a small grin on his face.

Harry laughed as Hermione shot Ron a mock glare, and reached across Ron to pat her on the shoulder in fake sympathy.

"Don't worry, Hermione. We all have our bad days." Harry said to her, a comical smirk on his face.

Hermione smiled at him, glad that Harry was still his sarcastic self even after all that had happened to him. Ron shook his head at Harry, rolling his eyes with a grin on his face. Ginny looked down at the twins, who had a mischievous glint in their eye, and rolled her eyes at them. But suddenly George caught a glimpse at Harry's back, to where his shirt was pulled up slightly from stretching his arm over Ron, and revealed three, thick white bandages under the cuts on his shirt.

"What the bloody hell happened?" He asked with a yelp.

Ginny and Fred snapped their eyes to where George was looking, and Ron and Hermione frowned as they realized what the three were looking at. Harry paled slightly, and pulled his arm away from Hermione's shoulder and reached it back to feel the cuts on his shirt and could feel the bandage's under that covered his lower back to about his shoulder blades.

"It's a _long_ story." Harry whispered.

Harry was glad when Fred and George shook their head's, telling Harry silently that he didn't have to tell them now. Harry was reluctant enough last night to tell Dumbledore everything, and he just wanted time to relax and heal from everything that happened to him, then he would like to tell them. But now was not the time.

"Sirius thought you went mental when he read it." Fred said, changing the subject.

Harry laughed, ignoring the slight pain he felt from it. He nodded his head at Fred, he already figured when he made the anagram that they would think he was mad, and said with a smile.

"Of course he did."


	9. Chapter 9: He Knows

Harry yawned as he looked away from Remus, and fought the urge to close his eyes. For the last half hour he and Remus talked about OWL's and the next school term, and Harry tried his hardest to stay awake. He heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and glanced over at the doorway. Sirius and Ron walked in and talked quietly the one another as they walked towards Remus and Harry.

"What's going on?" Harry asked slowly as Ron sat on his free side, and Sirius sat on the other side of Remus.

"We're gonna take you upstairs to your room so you can get some sleep, you look ready to pass out." Sirius replied.

Harry's mind snapped to the problem he had thought about earlier when Remus mentioned he going back to his room, and a frown fell on his face.

"What is it, pup?" Sirius asked as he studied Harry's face.

"I'm fine down here. I mean Ron probably likes to have that room upstairs all to himself, and I wouldn't be there to wake him up in the middle of the night-" Harry started, but stopped when he realized he told them what he was worrying about.

That was all Harry could worry about at the moment: nightmare's. They were already bad, his parent's and Cedric appeared in most of them, but now Voldemort added something else for him to scream about at night. He knew they would get worse, how couldn't they after everything he was put through?

"Don't worry about that, Harry. Ron's moving into my room for a while, so that I can be there if you need anything in the middle of the night." Sirius told him calmly.

In truth, Sirius and Remus discussed what they should do about Harry's nightmares, and knew they couldn't keep him on Dreamless Sleep potion's forever, that he body would build up an immune system to it if they tried. So the decided it would be best if Sirius was in the room with him, to calm Harry down after he woke up from his nightmares.

"Okay." Harry said with a sheepish nod, and Remus could hear some guilt etched in his voice.

"Don't feel guilty about it. It's completely out of your control, and we just want to be there to help you." He told Harry quietly.

Harry nodded again, this time his face slightly flushed. Ron and Sirius then got off the couch, and stood right in front of Harry. Ron reached his hand out and Harry took it as he heaved himself out of his seat. Sirius placed an arm around his waist to steady him, and Harry gripped Ron's arm tightly as he swayed on the spot. The Strengthening Solution's and Blood Replenishing potion's only worked so fast, so it was taking time for Harry to build up strength again.

Ron placed his free hand on the small of Harry's back to keep him upstraight and began to steer him toward's the stairs. Harry had his mouth clamped shut tightly, because his stomach to feel nauseous, and tried hard to keep his body moving and upstraight. When they reached the stairs Ron stayed on the step before them and Harry kept a hold on his arm, and used it to help him pull himself onto the next step. Sirius stayed right by his side, and let Harry lean on him if necessary.

Close to the half way point of the stairs, Harry began to pant and lean more on Sirius from using up most of his strength. Ron and Sirius both noticed, and stopped to let Harry take a deep breath. Ron looked at Sirius worriedly, his eyes pointing to Harry, and didn't know what to do. Sirius just gave him a small nod that told Ron he would take care of it. Sirius placed his one hand on the small of Harry's back, while the other went under his knees, and carefully Sirius picked him up.

"What are you doing?" Harry yelped, his body tensed from the sudden touch.

"Taking you upstairs." Sirius answered with a roll of his eyes.

Sirius continued up the stairs with Harry, while Ron walked in front of them, who looked back at Harry's blushing face and snickered. Harry gave him a rude gesture with his hand, and Sirius slapped the hand down while Ron continued to chuckle. Finally they reached the room Ron and Harry used to share, and Sirius set Harry back on his feet, and led him into the room. Harry looked around the room and noticed that Ron's stuff was taken out and replaced with Sirius'. With help, Harry walked over to his bed and let Sirius and Ron help him into a change of pajama's.

"If you need anything, call for one of the Weasley's or Hermione, they should all be up here." Sirius told Harry as he helped him into the bed.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked curiously.

"Order meeting." Sirius replied carefully.

Harry knew instantly what it was about, and gave a reluctant nod. Sirius had been surprised that Harry didn't argue, but looked more closely at him and noted the tiredness in his face and eyes. Sirius patted his hair gently and gave him a warm smile.

"I'll be up in a while to check on you." He said quietly.

Harry gave a brief smile and settled into the bed more and relaxed as he closed his eyes tiredly. He could sense that Sirius left the room, and knew Ron was still by the door, not knowing whether he should leave or not. But seeing that Harry was half asleep, Ron gave small sigh.

"I know when I'm not wanted." He said in a mockingly sad tone.

He started to walk down the hallway, and a lopsided grin grew on his face as he heard Harry chuckle in the room behind him.

* * *

Sirius hurried down the stairs as he heard chairs scrape against the wood floor in the dining room as Order Member's sat down, and quickly entered the room and sat in an available seat next to Tonks.

"Wotcher Sirius." She said happily as Remus sat on her other side.

"Hey Tonks." He replied, and watched the remaining Order Member's sit down.

"Happy to have your boy back?" She asked as she noticed his improved mood.

"You have no idea." Sirius muttered, a grin forming on his face.

"I know both of you and Dumbledore were frantically looking for him," She said with a sideways' glance at Remus, "Dumbledore had all us Auror Members searching anywhere he could think of."

"Dumbledore mentioned that." Sirius said offhandedly.

Before she could continue on, Dumbledore cleared his throat and all eyes were on him. Sirius noticed that Moody was next to him, and Kingsley Shaklebolt, Hestia Jones, and Elphias Doge were across from him. He looked around the table more carefully, and he saw only Molly, Arthur, McGonagall, and Flitwick sitting there. Right away Sirius could tell this was a serious meeting, that only the most trusted Order Member's were allowed.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I know that this meeting was scheduled at the last minute, but I have very important news to share. First of all, for us do not know, Harry Potter was rescued last night from the Riddle House," Dumbledore started.

Sirius saw Hestia, Elphias, McGonagall, and Flitwick open their eyes in shock and suck in their breath. McGonagall clutched her chest tightly and her cheeks were flushed slightly. Remus had to reach an arm out to help Flitwick stay steady in his chair, while Hestia and Elphias's mouths dropped open. The Other Order Members shared pleased look's with each other, glad that they got Harry right from under Voldemort's nose.

"Now, onto matter's of the present. As you all know, we have some of our Member's guarding a Prophesy in the Department of Mysteries, one that has to do with Harry and Voldemort," Dumbledore spoke, and stopped to let everyone take in what he had said.

Sirius and Remus looked sharply at him, _was he about to tell them the full contents of the Prophesy?_ McGonagall, Flitwick, Arthur and Molly stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes, hardly believing their ears. Tonks, Kingsley, Moody, Hestia, and Elphias shared curious look's, and wondered what Dumbledore was going to tell them.

"After recent event's, I believe that Harry, along with his friends, and all of you should know what exactly this Prophesy says, so that we all know what we are fighting against, and what for."

"Dumbledore," McGonagall started, and looked at the surprised faces that surrounded her, "Do you believe it would be wise to tell Potter everything that the Prophesy says? _He's just a boy_."

"Yes, I believe he should know. I believe he should know why everything has happened to him, why exactly Voldemort has hunted him down since he was a baby, and why Voldemort want's him." Dumbledore answered.

Everyone at the table took a moment to gather in what Dumbledore told them, and they realized how dangerous the information they were going to be given was to have. Dumbledore watched them all ponder over everything, and waited for someone to point out the flaw he had made. After a few minutes of silence, it was Remus who spoke up.

"How do you know who to trust? Someone might possibly slip up." He said quietly.

"Ah, I see you have seen that particular flaw, but I have a solution. Everyone that hears the Prophesy will need to made an Unbreakable Vow with either myself, Sirius, or Remus to not speak a word of the Prophesy to anyone. And if anyone is uncomfortable with that, will not hear the Prophesy at all." Dumbledore responded.

Nod's rang throughout the room, and a few people pondered whether or not they would take the risk to hear the Prophesy and take the Unbreakable Vow that came with it, or to be unaware of it at all.

"I don't think I would be comfortable taking an Unbreakable Vow, I have a family that I need to take care of." Hestia said, and Elphias nodded in agreement with her.

"No problem, Hestia. When the time comes, however, I need you and Elphias to leave Headquarters." Dumbledore replied to her.

Hestia and Elphias nodded in agreement, while everyone else seated at the table became nervous as they thought about what they would hear in a few hours. Sirius had been more worried at how Harry would react to it, how he would feel with what rested on his shoulders. As he looked over, he saw Remus's face show the same way he felt. The Auror's looked determined, they knew how dangerous it was to know the information they were going to be given. Dumbledore took in the faces around him, and moved onto the next subject to let them all get prepared for the next few hours to come.

* * *

Harry rolled over in his sleep and sighed into his pillow. He had been asleep for a hour or two, his body taking in the strength it was receiving gratefully. Ron was on the bed beside him and had been reading '_Flying With The Cannon's_' again. Ginny and Hermione were in their own room, talking about god know's what, while the twins were in the sitting room on the same floor discussing the joke shop that they wanted to build after they finished with Hogwarts.

Ron looked over at his best friend sleeping and gave a small smile. He had been scared to death when Voldemort had came and taken him, but he didn't really show how much it did, because he had been too busy helping Hermione deal with it all. He had only confided in Fred and George after he had calmed Hermione down, and told them everything he felt.

The twin's were actually the ones that tried to soothe him, and told him that Sirius would do anything to get Harry back. Ron knew that of course, but they all knew what Voldemort wanted in exchange for Harry, and knew that it wasn't possible. Relief had spread through Ron when a rescue mission had been made, and how easy it was to get Harry back. Ron flipped the page of his book, and glanced at the picture of the Cannon's Seeker reaching his fist out and wrapping it around the snitch, when Harry gave a small gasp and sat straight up in his bed.

Harry ignored the pain that shot up his back and muscles, and his eyes roamed around the room in search of danger. All he saw was Ron on the bed next to him, who looked at him with concern. Harry could feel himself shaking, and pondered over why he was. He didn't have any strange nightmare's, he didn't even know why he woke up in the first place.

"You alright, mate?" Ron asked, getting off the bed.

Harry nodded his head and pushed his bangs off of his forehead with a trembling hand. Ron made his way over to Harry and sat next to him on the side of the bed, his book lay forgotten on the other bed.

"Do you want me to go get Sirius or Remus?" Ron asked, not knowing what to do.

"Yeah." Harry breathed.

Ron nodded and got off the bed, and made his way out of the room, and glanced over his shoulder as he did. Laying back in the bed, Harry rested his head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, his eyebrows creased together. Suddenly, it hit him. A terrible pain erupted on his scar, and Harry gave a small cry as his hand flew straight to his scar, as if it would help. He snapped his eyes shut, and he clenched his teeth together to keep the scream building up in his throat silent.

"Sirius! Remus!" Harry heard Ron yell on the steps near the room.

_Harry looked around the room before him, but didn't remember opening his eyes. Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Peter Pettigrew were kneeling before him, with only Snape managing to keep eye contact with him. _

_"Excuse me?" Harry snapped in a cold voice, and ignored the flinches he received._

_"The P-Potter boy e-escaped." Lucius said quietly, and locked his gaze on the ground._

_Harry felt anger bubble inside him, and grabbed his wand out of the pocket of his robes._

_"How the hell did he escape?! One of you were guarding his cell at all times! How could you disappoint me?!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at each of them._

_"I was knocked out, My Lord. Someone from the Order must of came and rescued him." Peter said with a tremble in his voice._

_"That's impossible, you fool! None of them could of known where he is! All of you took an Unbreakable Vow!" Harry snarled at him._

_"I don't know what to tell you, My Lord." Peter squeaked._

_"Crucio!" Harry yelled, his wand pointed at Peter._

Harry felt his eyes snap open, and he looked wildly around the room, and felt sweat all over his face and body. He saw Remus, Sirius, and Dumbledore standing around his bed, while Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway worriedly.

"What happened, Harry?" Remus asked, his face pale and gleaming with sweat.

Sirius sat next to Harry on the bed, and ran his fingers through his hair soothingly, and felt Harry shake as he pushed himself up to sit.

"I think I'm going mad." Harry whispered frantically as he leaned into Sirius.

Sirius put his arms around Harry, while Remus reached out a hand and started to rub the un-bandaged part of his back.

"Why do you think that?" Remus asked him, and sat on the other side of him.

"I-I was in Voldemort's mind, but I wasn't watching or standing next to him like I have before, but _I _was _him_." Harry replied in a trembling voice.

He heard the intake of breath around him, and Harry hid his face into Sirius' shirt. Dumbledore looked at Harry closely, and knew that the connection between him and Voldemort had gotten stronger, and knew that now was the perfect time to tell him about the Prophesy.

"What did you see, Harry?" Sirius asked with worry.

"He knows I'm gone, he's really angry." Harry told him.

"I bet he is." Sirius muttered under his breath, and struggled not to smile.

In truth, Sirius hoped Voldemort had been pissed, he hoped that Voldemort would take his anger out on his Death Eater's, but he didn't want Harry to see that. He sighed, and took Harry by the shoulders and made him face his way and locked eyes with him.

"Don't worry about it, Harry. The connection is just a bit stronger now that Voldemort has returned, don't over think about it." He told Harry gently.

Harry didn't looked relieved at all, but nodded. Dumbledore gave Sirius and Remus a look, and they both knew what it meant. Now was the time to tell Harry. Sirius wanted to wait, to wait until Harry had been older, not _now_. Not after everything Harry had just been through, he felt that Harry wouldn't take the information well because of how fragile he was at the moment. Sirius knew Harry was to young to worry about Voldemort, to stress about when Voldemort would start looking for him again. It would be too much for a fifteen year old. Sirius and Remus had discussed this before Ron had called them both up, and they both agreed that Harry shouldn't know right now.

Looking over his shoulder, Sirius saw Molly and Arthur next to the other children, and waited for Dumbledore to ask for everyone to go downstairs to tell them about the Prophesy. They didn't much about it, but they didn't like the idea of Harry and their children knowing about it.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "Would you mind coming downstairs to discuss something?" He asked.

Sirius knew at that moment that they was no going back now, and let out a shaky breath. Remus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, and held back the urge to ask Dumbledore to wait, already knowing what his answer would be. Molly and Arthur listened carefully, and hoped that Dumbledore might of changed of his mind about what he wanted to tell Harry.

"Sure," Harry replied weakly, "What about?" He asked.

"I need to share with you something that I feel you should know." Dumbledore told him.

Harry looked confused, his mind dug for something that might of been mentioned before, but nothing came to mind, with his mind still working slow from sleeping. Sirius and Remus got off the bed and reluctantly helped Harry out of his. Harry leaned on Remus as he held onto Sirius' outstretched arm, and walked slowly and weakly to the stairs. Dumbledore, Molly and Arthur followed behind them with Hermione and Ginny, Ron had already left to go get the twins on his parent's request.

When they got to the stairs, Sirius picked Harry up again so they could get down the stairs quicker, and ignored the annoyed glare Harry gave him at the act. Remus tailed them, while the rest walked down the stairs with them. Sirius carried Harry all the way to the couch and sat next to him. Remus sat on the couch across from them with Molly, Arthur, and Dumbledore, and saw Tonks, Kingsley, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Moody walk in the doorway.

At the end of the coffee table by Harry, Moody gave a small wave of his wand and conjured a couch for Tonks, Kingsley and himself to sit on, and someone else could if they wished. Hermione sat next to Sirius, and Ron sat next to her when he, Ginny and the twins walked in. Flitwick went over and sat next to Moody, while Arthur got out his wand and conjured a couch next to Ron so that McGonagall, Fred, George and Ginny could sit.

Everyone settled in a seat around the room, and all eyes locked on Dumbledore, and waited for him to begin. The adults knew what was coming, and braced themselves for what they were going to hear. Sirius and Remus knew more about the Prophesy than more of them, but Dumbledore did not want them to know the rest for some unknown reason. The kid's on the other hand, did not know anything about what they were going to hear, and couldn't prepare for it.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "I know that Voldemort asked you many question's during your time at the Riddle House, but one more out of the rest. The Prophesy."

Harry perked up at the mention of the Prophesy, and Sirius saw understanding enter his eyes. Harry knew what he was about to be told, and tried to hid the disbelief on his face. The other kids reacted with wide eyes and opened mouth's, surprised that they were allowed to hear what Dumbledore was about to say.

"I will tell you what exactly the Prophesy says, and I will answer your questions after I am done talking. But I must ask you, and everyone in the room, to keep quiet as I talk, to not interrupt me." Dumbledore said as he looked at everyone in the room.

Dumbledore waited until everyone in the room gave him a nod in agreement, then set his eyes on Harry, as if it was him he was just talking to. Taking in a deep breath, Dumbledore steadied his voice, and begin the story of the Prophesy.


	10. Chapter 10: The One With The Power

Harry felt numb, he couldn't believe what he had heard. Dumbledore had just told them all about the Prophesy Trelawney made in the Hogs Head fifteen years ago. Harry felt as though the breath was knocked out of him, he couldn't think straight, a millions thoughts were swirling inside his brain._ He shall have power the Dark Lord knows not, what the hell was that_?! _Neither can live while the other survives_, the Prophesy replayed over and over again in his mind, like a Muggle recorder that wouldn't shut up. Harry thought he might be sick, his breathing became shallow and faster as he started to slowly figured out what exactly the Prophesy meant. _Harry_ was the only that could defeat Voldemort, _he_ had the power to do it. And what power would that be? One that he never learned of, or that had never shown itself before?

Voldemort was strong, Harry knew that, and what did he himself have? A scar on his forehead that made him famous, only because his mother sacrificed herself so he could live. Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head into his waiting hands, his mind going over word for word of the Prophesy again. Sirius knew the Prophesy was along those lines, but hearing it himself was overwhelming, and knew Harry had to feel more than overwhelmed. Sirius looked at him and saw the wheel's turning in his head, figuring out the real meaning of the Prophesy. Remus watched him closely too, waiting with a stunned face for Harry or anyone to say anything.

Hermione and Ron watched Harry carefully too, waiting for some kind of reaction, other than the look of the shock that was set on his face. They both had known before that the Prophesy was the key to defeating Voldemort, but didn't know that it would reveal that it was Harry that was the key to defeat Voldemort. Of course they had known that Harry was apart of it somehow, why else would Voldemort be after Harry in the first place? He had asked Harry about the Prophesy multiple times, because he had known Harry was mentioned and thought Dumbledore had told him.

Ginny's brown eyes were wide in shock and surprise, her mouth open in disbelief. How could they tell him this now? After just escaping Voldemort, then to be told you have to defeat the darkest wizard of all time? Ginny, like almost everyone else in the room, kept her eyes on Harry, waiting for him to do something. Fred and George looked at each other with open mouths, they couldn't believe the bombshell Dumbledore just gave Harry, a weakened boy at the moment.

The Auror's kept their faces blank, not showing their reaction to the news. Inside they felt shock and surprise, their answer to ending the war sitting right in front of them, a fifteen year boy. What was this power Harry had, that the Prophesy mentioned? They couldn't help but think along those lines. Molly and Arthur also tried their best not to show how they felt, but they were seething. How could they tell him this now? Dumbledore should of waited until Harry was better, or better yet older! How could you tell a fifteen year old boy that his job was to kill the Dark Lord?

McGonagall clutched her chest, her heard beating fast under her hand. she reacted like everyone else in the room did, she couldn't believe Albus would tell Harry this now, she would of never imagined telling him this now. Flitwick tightly gripped his seat, afraid he would fall out of it. Dumbledore watched the many reactions in the room, and knew most of the adults would be angry at him for telling Harry this now, but he believed the boy should know his role in the war.

"How did Voldemort know the Prophesy was about me? It never mentioned a name!" Harry exclaimed, and everyone could hear a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Actually Harry, it could of meant a different boy that you know quite well." Dumbledore replied. "It spoke of two boys that were born at the end of July that year, both who had parents that fought against Voldemort, and hardly escaped from him three different times. The Prophesy could of been about you or Neville Longbottom."

"So, there's a possibility that it couldn't be me?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"There is not doubt in my mind that it is you." Dumbledore told him with sadness.

"But - you just said -?" Harry started in confusion, but Dumbledore held up a finger to silence him.

"But Voldemort had to mark him as his equal. And he chose you, Harry, not Neville. He gave you that scar, which proved that you are the one."

"Why didn't he wait? He could of picked wrong!" Harry said desperately.

"Notice this, Harry. He chose someone similar to himself, a half-blood. He saw you as dangerous and powerful, it didn't matter you had Muggleborn blood inside you. He gave you some of his own prized power's the night he tried to kill you, which have allowed you to escape from him five times so far, something that no one alive has ever achieved."

"But I don't have any power that he doesn't!" Harry said with a strangled voice, "I can't fight like he can, or kill anyone-"

"But you do, Harry. You have so much of the power that Voldemort doesn't understand, which he hates. Love." Dumbledore cut him off, explaining it quickly so Harry would understand.

The room sat in shock for a moment, stunned more than ever. _Love_? That was the power Harry had that Voldemort didn't? Harry was going to argue with Dumbledore about how stupid that sounded, but something else bothered him more than that.

"There was something at the end of the Prophecy that I don't quite understand..." Harry started, looking at Dumbledore for a answer as everyone else watched him closely in silence.

But Dumbledore didn't answer him, but waited for Harry to figure out what it said for himself. Seeing what Dumbledore wanted him to do, Harry thought over the words carefully in his head, pondering over what it might mean. With a tiny gasp, Harry realized what exactly they meant, and hoped that he was very wrong.

"So I have to kill him or he kills me... in the end? Harry asked in a whisper, despair filling him as he waited for Dumbledore to answer him.

"Yes." Dumbledore finally spoke, his voice grave.

Harry knew that would be Dumbledore's answer, but he still hoped that he would of been wrong. It was always him, everything happened to him. Harry closed his eyes and propped his arm on the edge of the couch so he could set his chin in his hand, his body trembling in shock. Sirius tried to put a reassuring hand of his shoulder, but Harry shrugged his hand off almost instantly. Even though Harry didn't want Neville to have the fate that he did, why didn't Voldemort wait until they were both older to see who was a bigger threat to him? Why guess and kill whatever baby he thought might be the boy the Prophesy talked about?

The room was silent, no one knowing what to say. Sirius, Remus, Molly, Arthur, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins all watched Harry carefully, watching the different emotion's play out on Harry's face cautiously.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"When you arrived to Hogwart's, I knew that in the future I would have to tell you about the Prophesy, but I didn't know when I would tell you. The, er, event's that have happened during your time at Hogwarts I believe you remember better than I. During most of these events you had stopped Voldemort from returning to power, delaying his return. Each time I was tempted to tell you, seeing you weak from your encounters. Only once did you ask me why Voldemort wanted you, but I refused to tell you."

"When you first asked me why Voldemort wanted you, I knew there was no way I could tell you then. I didn't think that you would be able to handle the truth at eleven, and Voldemort hadn't returned, so I saw no reason tell you yet. Each time after you returned from the danger you faced, I was so temped to tell you, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, I always saw that since Voldemort wasn't back to power, you didn't need to know. Do you see the mistake I made? I cared too much, I cared more about your happiness than your knowledge of the truth, more for your peace of mind, more than the lives that could be lost if the plan I made failed. I acted as anyone who loved would of, exactly what Voldemort expected."

Harry sat in stunned silence, his mind working out what Dumbledore just told him. The only reason Harry had no knowledge of anything was because Dumbledore cared too much about him? It was nice to know much Dumbledore for him, but Harry knew the truth was too important to hide because you cared to much about someone. The Auror's had seen in their short time at Headquarters that Dumbledore cared very much about Harry and his well being, and everyone else in the room gave a silent chuckle or smiled as they watched Harry's stunned reaction to Dumbledore's words.

"But then you came out of the maze last year in the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, witnessing a friend of yours be killed, and narrowly escaping the same fate yourself... I didn't tell you, though. I saw how weak and scarred you were from the encounter and bring myself to scare you more than you already were. I knew I would have to soon with the return of Voldemort. Then during your summer holidays where you were supposed to be safe, Voldemort himself came and collected you, torturing you for information I held back from you. So today I decided to finally tell you the knowledge you have been ready for that I have kept from you so long, because you have recently proved that I can place this burden of knowledge upon you. The best reason why I have not told you is this; I've watched you struggle under more obstacles than anyone I have ever faced in my lifetime, and I couldn't care to add another one in your path, greater than any other."

Even though Harry thought he should of known about this sooner, he saw where Dumbledore was coming from, he would of done the same if he was in the same situation. He was suddenly relieved that he didn't know anything about the Prophesy when he was taken, he would be dead by know if he had known and accidentally slipped to Voldemort when the pain became too much to handle. Harry looked up and saw Dumbledore studying him carefully, almost wary of his reaction. Harry tried to offer him a small smile, but his scar suddenly gave a sharp pain, and Harry hissed through clenched teeth and clamped a hand over it, oblivious to everyone watching him.

"What is it?" Remus asked worriedly from his seat.

"I don't know, I think he's still angry." Harry replied with closed eyes.

Some confused looks rang throughout the room, but Dumbledore nodded and leaned in towards Harry, pushing his hand aside so he could take a look at the red, irritated looking scar. Harry didn't object, but he didn't like Dumbledore studying his scar like he was.

"Yes Harry, I believe you are right," Dumbledore said as he moved his hand away from the scar and sat back in his own seat, " I noticed that your scar gives you pains when Voldemort is close to you, even in disguise, and when he is feeling a very strong emotion."

Harry nodded, he knew this, he was the one to tell Dumbledore this. Everyone but Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius looked at him in shock, they had no knowledge that Harry could do this.

"I believe that you and Voldemort share a connection, and it had gotten stronger with his return to a body and his full powers. I know last year you discussed with me a dream you had over the summer at your relatives house, and you didn't know what to make of it. I believe that you are able to look into Voldemorts mind, and he yours."

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, Voldemort could enter his mind? Could he see what he was doing or thinking at this exact moment? Dumbledore had discussed this with Remus and Sirius, who were the only ones in the room that hadn't had a reaction to Dumbledore's words.

"But, I believe that Voldemort has no knowledge of this connection at the moment, and I believe this connection will get stronger because of Voldemort's return to a body."

Harry breathed in a sigh of relief, the thought of Voldemort of Voldemort reading his mind scared him to death. Harry heard Ron and Hermione breath out a sigh of relief too, and knew they only had because they knew how he would react to this, and they weren't the only ones in the room to do so.

"But, I also believe that when it inevitably happens, he will try to use you when he does become aware of the connection, and you might not be aware of what is happening. I would be caution of your thoughts, and talk to either your friends or contact someone at Headquarters if you have any sudden weird, or possibly violent thoughts."  
Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, shocked by what Dumbledore had told him, not for the first time that day, and felt his eyes widen as well. Voldemort could somehow find a way to control him, like a puppet with him pulling the strings. He have a small shiver at the thought, and felt repulsed.

Harry knew he was being watched by almost everyone in the room, and found himself not caring for once. He felt as though his brain might explode with everything that he was just told, and wanted nothing more than to yell out his frustration with himself, the bloody Prophesy, everything. Not caring how weak his body was, not caring how anyone else would react, Harry got off his spot on the couch and hurried out of the room before anyone could stop him.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update, but I have feeling I might be posting late for a least the next month. My life is a little hectic at the moment, but I will try when I have free time to post a chapter. So, until next time!


	11. Chapter 11: Not Alone

Harry winced as he hurried up the stairs, the movement sending jolts of pain up his back and legs, but he ignored it and started to walk fast when he reached the landing. Grasping the doorknob in his hand, Harry twisted the bathroom door open and shut it loudly behind him. He walked over to the sink and grasp the sides of it, supporting himself as he looked into the mirror. His glasses were still gone, but Remus mentioned finding him a better pair with the same frame, but it didn't matter as he squinted to look at his face. Any cuts that Voldemort had given him on his face were red lines on his face, his bruises were still a sickeningly blue-black color, and his scar looked red and irritated as ever.

There were bags under his dull green eyes, and his hair was messy, still caked with blood and dirt. Feeling disgusted with himself as he eyes continued to roam over his injuries all over his body, Harry turned the sink on and cupped some water in his hands, pouring it into his face in attempt to clean any blood and dirt off of it. Harry suddenly realized that tears were running down his face, mingling with the water, and a shudder ran through him. He hadn't cried during his ordeal with Voldemort, he promised himself that he wouldn't, or when he had been rescued, but with everything that he just learned he felt as though it was too much, and allowed the tears to continue.

Harry placed his head in the sink and let the water run in his hair, watching the water change to a dull red as his blood mixed with it, running down the drain of the sink as he shivered from the cold water. He was not mad that Dumbledore had kept this from him, Harry knew he could handle this better now than he would of at eleven, twelve, and even thirteen, it would of been even worse if he had been told in his forth year, with everything that had happened. Now, it seemed in a strange way, was the perfect time to tell him.

With everything Voldemort had put him through this week, Harry deserved to know why it happened to him, and everything in his life for that matter. He was thinking on the same line as Dumbledore, and surprisingly agreed. By the way Remus, Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked during the story, they weren't comfortable with him knowing now. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George also, Harry saw out of the corner of his eye them all watching him the whole entire time. The Auror's, and along with his teachers, didn't know what to expect, and were shocked with everything they learned.

Listening hard when he thought he heard something close by, Harry stopped what he was doing and turned the water off, and went to go grab a towel as he listened closely. He had been right, he could hear someone climbing the stairs at the moment, and could faintly hear Dumbledore speaking to someone or a group of people downstairs. Running the towel through his hair, Harry waited for the knock on the door that was surely about to come.

"Harry?" Sirius asked through the door, not bothering to knock, "Will you open the door for me?"

Harry sighed as he straightened himself out, pondering if he should listen to Sirius or not. Deciding his couldn't put off the inevitable, Harry reached his arm out and unlocked the door, and slowly opened it. Sirius looked up at him in surprise, he didn't really except Harry to be easy, and studied his godson closely. Nothing had changed much in the last few minutes, but his hair was clean now, free of dirt and blood, and he had tears running slowly down his pale face.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." Sirius said quietly, and walked into the room.

Harry felt Sirius pull him into a embrace, and stayed still for a moment, closing his eyes and surpassing a sob. After collecting himself, Harry pulled his arms free from his side and wrapped them under Sirius' shoulder, laying his head there and letting the tears run free on his shirt. Sirius moved to sit down on the floor, and pulled Harry gently with him, letting Harry relax against him. Sirius rubbed his back gently, making sure he didn't hit any of the cuts as he did.

"H-how am I support t-to do this!" Harry gasped out, his throat hurting from suppressed sobs.

Sirius rested his chin on the top of Harry's head, and frowned deeper as he thought over Harry's words. He shouldn't have to worry about this now, it's was too much for him.

"One thing is for sure, not alone." Sirius told him, his voice sounding strained.

Harry focused on his breathing and keeping his sobs down, not hearing the Weasley's and Hermione walking up the stairs to check on both him and Sirius as he did so. Harry shook his head as soon as the words come out of Sirius' mouth, and his frustration with the situation turned into anger in a snap.

"No," Harry said harshly through clenched teeth, "It's got to be me, and only me. You heard the Prophesy. I've got to do it alone." He kept his voice steady.

"The Prophesy didn't say you weren't allowed help," Sirius said sharply, "Only that you had to be the one to deliver the final blow."

"I don't even know how I could! I could never kill anyone- how would even be able to with love?" Harry questioned.

"Harry, you misinterpreted it. It's that after everything that you have gone through, after losing so much at a young age, it's shocking how much you can love and care for people. Others would keep to themselves, shut people out. You don't as much as we had expected, you care for people so much that you would risk your life for them, which you have already shown. That's exactly what the Prophesy meant, you would risk your own life to defend the one's that you love. That's how you would defeat him, defending thoughs you love."

Harry closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest, ignoring the pain as usual, and rested his chin in his knee. What Sirius said made since, he could see himself killing someone to defend someone that he loved. But Voldemort was much to strong, to powerful, for someone like Harry to be defeated by. The thought of a fifteen year old student killing the Dark Lord was laughable.

"I know what you mean, Sirius. But just because I would defend you or anyone else in this house doesn't mean that I would win, I would probably just die trying." Harry told him, his voice hoarse.

"You forgot one small detail- Voldemort marked you as his equal. He gave you some of his powers the night he tried to kill you -your Parsaltongue is enough evidence- and you can use it against him. From the way I heard Dumbledore speak about your magic, how much I've seen for myself, is extraordinary. Never has a thirteen year old been able to produce a Patronus, a eight year old shouldn't be able to Apparate on top of a school roof without a wand. You are very powerful, Harry. It just takes the sense of danger, or fear for others lives, to use it." Sirius said quietly.

Harry kept quiet, his mind going over what exactly Sirius just said. Harry already knew that he had some of Voldemort's powers, Dumbledore told him at the end of his second year, explaining to Harry why he could speak Parsaltongue. The next part of what Sirius said, even Harry knew he was right. Hermione, the brightest witch of there age, couldn't even produce a Patronus, but she was still practicing. And his accidental magic from when he was younger, only Dumbledore had known about that, Harry figured he must of explained it to Remus and Sirius when they discussed his magic over the summer.

Harry thought over the next bit Sirius said, about what it took to bring out his powerful magic. With the Dementor's, he was able to produce a Patronus not because he already knew he could do it, but because Sirius, Hermione and himself were in danger of something worse than death, and he was trying to protect them from that. In the graveyard, he could keep the beam of his spell at Voldemort for as long as did because his life was in danger, and he knew what Voldemort would do to the Wizarding World the second he dropped dead. But then something else popped into his head that made him question his power.

"What about when I was taken? I knew that my life was in danger, and everyone's if I slipped any information, why couldn't my magic protect me then if it has before without a wand?" Harry asked, frustration building inside of him.

"Well, think of it this way, why didn't you tell Voldemort the answers he wanted?" Sirius questioned.

"Because I didn't know most of the answers to them, and because I knew he wanted some answers desperately." Harry replied cautiously.

"And?" Sirius pressed on.

"And that he wouldn't kill me until he had those answers." Harry finished.

"Exactly, you weren't in danger of being killed, and your magic knew that, so it didn't come out to protect you." Sirius told him.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "But my magic had protected me before from getting hurt, kept me from harms way." Harry told him, remembering his childhood with Dudley.

"You have to look at it this way, before your magic was protecting you from physical assaults, Muggle fighting. But Voldemort used his wand against you, and he is a very powerful wizard. Your body was weak and tired, and your magic was no match to fight wandlessly like that, it was saving up energy for when Voldemort finally tried to kill you."

It all clicked into place inside Harry's head, it all finally made sense. Harry nodded his head to Sirius, who pulled Harry against his chest gently, allowing Harry to rest his head. Harry felt overwhelmed by everything that he had just been told, by what he just learned about himself and his fate, to the point of exhaustion. He wanted nothing more than to be under the covers in his bed, resting as he slept with the help of a Dreamless Sleep potion. Suddenly Sirius gave a small jolt, and Harry looked up to see what was wrong. Sirius looked surprised, as if he suddenly remembered something, and started to dig into the pocket of his robes.

"What wrong?" Harry asked tiredly.

Sirius didn't answer at first, his hand frantically searching his pocket for something, than with a look a triumph, grabbing two things out of his pocket and set them on the floor by his side. Harry stretched his neck to see, and saw that a vial of some sort of potion laying there next to a small bottle of what looked like cream.

"Madam Pomfrey sent this over after you left. This," He said, pointing to the vial, "Is for your lung, to help clear it or something. The cream is for your bruises, it'll make them go away faster."

Sirius handed Harry the vial, and opened the small bottle of cream as Harry drained the vial with a look of disgust. Sirius put his hand on Harry's chin and turned his head to the side, and put some cream on his free hand. Rubbing gently, Sirius applied the cream to the bruises on his face, and the ones he could see on Harry's arms, and a few on his neck. After he was done, Sirius put the cap back on the bottle, and Harry had the fight to keep himself from rubbing at the cream on his skin. Silence grew between them, but it was comfortable, not at all awkward. Harry put a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn, a heard the floor outside in the hallway groan from the weight on it, and he rolled his eyes with a slight smile.

"I know your all out there." Harry said loudly, glancing over at Sirius, who was staring out the doorway.

Outside the door, a squeak could be heard, along with a few gasps of shock and a few groans of disappointment.

"I told you not to move, you git!" One of the twins said furiously out in the hall.

Harry smiled as Sirius laughed, and they waited sitting on the floor of the bathroom as the Weasleys walked into sight slowly. Harry looked up and wiped the drying tears from his cheeks, blushing slightly at the reminder of his lose of control over his emotions.

"Why did it take you so long to come up here?" Sirius asked them, remembering he heard them in the hall during the middle of his and Harry's conversation.

"Dumbledore made us make a Unbreakable Vow with him, to keep the information safe." Hermione replied, her voice slow and careful.

"He did what?" Harry said, shock written on his face.

"Now Harry, you know that the information was very valuable, we have to keep it safe at all cost-" Sirius started.

"I don't care," Harry cut in, "This information was mostly about me, my fate and how to end it. He had no right to do that-!" Harry spoke, his voice fast and sharp.

"It was information to end the war, Harry. He had every right to keep it safe, no matter what. Now is not the time to discuss it, your about to pass out from exhaustion at any second. Time for bed." Sirius cut in, his voice as sharp as Harry's.

"I've been out long enough." Harry snapped, huffing angrily.

Sirius closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his patience.

"Molly, can you please bring up at vial of Dreamless Sleep?" Sirius asked, standing up and holding a hand out to Harry.

Molly nodded, and hurried down the stairs to get what Sirius asked for. Harry looked at the hand Sirius extended for him hesitantly, then finally grasped it as much a he could and pulled himself off the floor, and swayed slightly from the sudden movement.

"Can you guys take Harry to his room? I have to speak with Remus and Dumbledore for a moment." Sirius asked the remainder.

Ron and George hurried over to Harry's side and placed a arm on him, allowing Sirius to leave. Harry didn't have any fight left in him, so leaned against them gratefully as they started walking to the room Harry was sleeping in. Arthur left with Sirius, leaving all the Weasley children plus Hermione to tend to Harry. Reaching Harry's door, Ginny walked in front of them to open the door, and moved to the side as Ron and George hauled Harry in, and rubbed her hand gently on Harry's shoulder as he passed her. Harry felt his stomach give a funny jolt at the gesture, and suppressed a smile. Hermione went over to his bed and pulled the covers back, and straightened out his pillows quickly.

"Thanks." Harry muttered, sitting down the bed.

Hermione smiled at him in return, and ruffled his hair, earning a mock scowl as Harry tried in vain to flatten his hair. Ginny moved the covers so Harry could slide under them, and Fred pushed him lightly on the shoulder so he would lay down. After a moment a silence, the door groaned as it was pushed opened, and Mrs. Weasley walked in with a small vial steaming in her hands. Harry fought a scowl as she came over and handled him the vial, wanting nothing more than to never see a potion again, but took it from her hand and drained it empty.

He felt the effects faster than ever, maybe because he was tired already he did not know, and could vaguely feel Mrs. Weasley pat his hair affectionately as his eyes started to close, his lips slightly parted as he fell into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 12: The Beetle Is Back

Sirius found himself hurrying down the stairs again, he had felt his mirror in his pocket heat up as he was talking to Harry, and knew Remus would only try to call him on it if it was an emergency. He almost ran into Kreacher on his way to the kitchen and he sent him to his cupboard after hearing him mutter how Sirius 'dishonored the Noble House of Black' with his usual rubbish. Walking into the kitchen, Sirius could immediately tell something was off. Remus, Kingsley, Arthur, and Tonk's were huddled in a group by the table, looking and muttering over a piece of parchment Kingsley was holding.

"What it is? Where're Dumbledore and the teachers?" Sirius asked, slowly walking over to them.

"They had to leave, staff meeting at Hogwarts. And take a look for yourself." Tonk's answered, gesturing for him to come over.

Sirius stopped next to Remus and Arthur, and peeked over their shoulders to see what they were reading. It was the 'Evening Prophet', and on the front cover was a picture of Harry before the third task, and in bold letters the title read _'THE BOY WHO WAS KIDNAPPED?'_ Sirius hissed a breath out through clenched teeth when he read who wrote it.

"Rita Skeeter." He snapped angrily.

Taking the paper from Kingsley, Sirius sat down on an empty chair, set the paper on the table before him and began to read. Sirius had to bite his tongue hard and keep his teeth clenched so he wouldn't start yelling in anger.

Rita Skeeter literally made it sound as though Dumbledore had done nothing to help get Harry back, and that Harry's friends, along with Ministry Aurors, had to find and saved Harry. She also implied that it was the work of angry Death Eaters, but asked why they would capture Harry in the first place. Sirius didn't know how Rita could have known about this story anyway, he seriously doubted Fudge would be going out and telling Daily Prophet reporters anything about the kidnapping, he would be too afraid how it would affect his power.

Sirius was positive that she could in no way spy on them at Grimmauld Place, the house had almost as many protective spells as Hogwarts along with darker ones, it wasn't possible. Still, he couldn't stop the shiver running down his spine or the feeling of unease settling in his stomach. If she, by any means, knew he was here he could be sent back to Azkaban in an instant. Shaking his head, he heard Remus, Tonk's, Kingsley and Arthur sit down next to him, they looked right at him.

"It's rubbish, Sirius." Remus said, taking the paper away and folding it.

"I know, but it worries me how she knows Harry was taken in the first place. I mean, we didn't go out telling people. Only Fudge and a couple of Aurors who are in the Order know about it." Sirius told them.

Kingsley was about to say something when the door opened, and Molly, along with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins walked in, Kingsley shut his mouth.

"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked the kids as they sat down at the table with them.

"Yeah, Harry's in a deep sleep upstairs. Little bugger didn't even wake up when Ron fell down the stairs." Fred replied, smiling over at his younger brother, who was scowling back at him as he rubbed his right arm.

"Good, I was worried he'd find enough strength to march down here and strangle Dumbledore or something." Sirius said with a slight smile on his face.

"What happened?" Kingsley asked curiously, looking from Sirius to the kids on the other side of the table, ignoring the banging of pots from the other side of the room where Molly was making dinner.

"Oh, Harry wasn't on board with the whole Unbreakable Vow thing. Going on 'bout how the information was about him, and he had the right to decide if he wanted us to make the Vow or not. Being a noble prat as always." Ron replied, Hermione lightly smacked his arm.

"Just like James." Remus said with a sigh, smiling over at Sirius, who nodded back at him with a wink.

"What is that?" Hermione suddenly asked, gesturing to the folded Evening Prophet in front of Remus.

"Just the paper Hermione, I don't think you'll want to read tha-" Arthur said, but Hermione had already reached across the table and was unfolding it.

Ron and George leaned in closer to her so they could read the paper, while Ginny and Fred stood up from their seats and read it over Hermione's shoulder. The adults watched as Hermione's eyes blazed with anger, while the boys and Ginny started exclaiming that she had no business writing about Harry.

"_That bitch_!" Hermione cursed under her breath, but everyone at the table heard it.

Remus choked on his Butterbeer and spilled some of it on his shirt, looking as shocked as Kingsley and Arthur did. Sirius bit his lip to suppress his laughter. He turned his face away from everyone and started to shake with mirth. Ginny and Tonk's shook their heads with smiles on their faces while the boys around her stared at her with open mouths. Hermione was never one to swear.

"She broke the deal we made!" She continued, throwing the paper away from herself.

"What do you mean?" Tonk's asked, her eyebrows creased together.

"I found out a very interesting secret of her's last year, and promised not to tell anyone if she didn't write another story on Harry ever again. And now I get the satisfaction of telling everyone what she is!" Despite the anger in her eyes, Hermione had an evil smirk on her face, one that sent chills down Ron, Fred, and George's backs.

Sirius could smell blackmail. He smiled at Remus with a trace of mischief in his eyes and leaned closer to Hermione. Kingsley and Arthur shared a look, but shrugged and looked back at Hermione.

"What? What is it?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus." Hermione announced dramatically.

Sirius, Fred, and George all looked over at Kingsley and Tonk's with evil smirks on their faces. The Aurors themselves looked shocked. Remus looked thoughtful, looking for any evidence to support what Hermione told him. Ginny and Ron smiled, both knowing that Hermione had probably just gotten the old hag into a lot of trouble with the Ministry.

"What is she?" Arthur asked her.

"A beetle." Hermione replied, leaning back in her chair.

"So, Kingsley," Sirius started, turning in his chair to face the Auror and trying to keep a straight face, "What are the charges of being a unregistered Animagus?"

"A fine of one thousand gallons and two months in Azkaban." Kingsley answered him, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"She gets to go to Azkaban?" Ginny asked, with a hint of joy in her voice.

"Yes, but since her crime isn't as bad as others, her cell won't have as many Dementors." Kingsley replied, seeing the look of shock on Hermione's face.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione. She deserves it, harassing children and selling fake stories to the public." Arthur told her in a reassuring voice as Sirius nodded along.

"And what may I ask will you do when you are proved innocent, Sirius? Do I have to remind you that you're also an unregistered Animagus?" Remus asked in an amused tone.

"Hey, I'll register as soon as I'm innocent. It won't cost me a thing." Sirius answered, unconcerned.

"But you've been one for over twenty years." Remus said with a laugh.

"Minor detail." Sirius replied with a wave of his hand.

Everyone at the table laughed, and Molly came over to start setting plates out. Arthur and Ginny got up to help her set the table. Then they sat down, and all of them explained what they had learned to Molly. She looked shocked at first, but then patted Hermione on the hand and thanked her, much to the amusement of the twins and Sirius. As soon as everyone was finished, Molly sent the plates to the sink with a flick of her wand, and Kingsley left for his own house, promising to report Rita to the Ministry first thing tomorrow. The kids started making their way to their rooms, while the adults went into the living room.

"Don't forget that we'll be cleaning up the house more tomorrow!" Molly shouted after them, ignoring the moans of annoyance she got back.

* * *

Harry reluctantly opened his eyes, letting out a small groan as he rolled onto his back, he felt a small sting run along the cuts there with the sudden movement, and reached a hand out for the nightstand next to him. There he found a pair of glasses, he put them on his face and, watching the room come into focus, slowly sat up. It took him a minute to realize that he left his glasses back at the Riddle House. He took the glasses off his face and looked at them closely. The frame was slightly smaller than his old ones, but he could see better out of these. Remus must have been able to find him new ones and left them there for him.

Hearing a snore puncture the silence, Harry turned his head and looked over at the bed next to his, there, he found Sirius lying on his stomach with his head turned in Harry's direction. His mouth was open and his hands were folded under the pillow beneath his head. It took Harry everything he had not to laugh out loud and, carefully untangling himself from the sheets on his bed, he stood up. Harry stretched his arms out slowly, making sure he didn't aggravate any of his injuries, and slowly made his way out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Harry walked across the hall and into the bathroom, making sure no one was there before walking in.

Going over to the sink he turned the faucet on and looked into the mirror. The cream Madam Pomfrey had sent over worked, the bruises on his face were fading, they were now a hardly there faded blue. His green eyes had gained back some of the light they always had in them, standing out against his pale skin. Other than that his lips and the healed cuts on his face were the only things that had colour. The shock of night last still lingered, but now Harry had a better hold of his emotions, and he understood better. He knew that he shouldn't be mad at Dumbledore for forcing them all to make an Unbreakable Vow to keep the information secret. Deep down he knew it was for the best.

Harry splashed water on his face, then wiped it off with a towel, and reached for the drawer under the counter. He grabbed the pile of clothes he'd left there in case he ever forgot to bring them with him when he took a shower and changed quickly. Harry walked out of the bathroom and climbed down the stairs carefully. He walked into the living room and found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, and Remus sitting there.

"Morning." He announced, and went over to sit by Ginny and Hermione on the couch.

"It's good to see you moving around dear, but don't you think it's a bit too soon?" Mrs. Weasley said, looking at him with concern.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Harry assured her, knowing his appearance said otherwise.

Harry leaned back against the couch, and tried to ignore the fact that most eyes in the room were on him. He looked down at his hands crossed on his stomach.

"What time is it?" He asked, breaking the sudden silence in the room.

"A little after nine." Ginny answered him, a smile on her face.

"Ah, that explains why Sirius and your brothers aren't up." Harry said with a laugh.

Everyone gave a small laugh, and Mrs. Weasley went into the kitchen to grab a pot of tea and probably some of the potions Harry needed to take. Sure enough, as soon as she walked in Harry could see steam coming from a few vials in her hand. He reluctantly took the potions, draining the cup of tea she gave him to try to get the horrible taste out of his mouth.

"Do you want any breakfast Harry? We just finished eating." Remus asked, starting to stand up.

"No, I'm fine, Remus." Harry replied, not thinking he could stomach anything but the potions at the moment.  
"Harry, you need to eat." Remus said sternly.

"I know, but what's the point if I just end up throwing it back up?" Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

"Just a piece of toast, that's all I'm asking." Remus compromised.

"Fine." Harry replied with a sigh. With a smile Remus left the room to fetch Harry some food.

Ron walked into the room a moment later, yawning as he stretched his arms over his head with his belt unbuckled on his trousers. As Harry, Ginny, and Hermione laughed at him Mr. Weasley informed Ron of his little problem and, blushing, Ron buckled his belt.

"It's too early in the morning to think straight, mate." He said as he sat down next to Harry.

But we get up earlier than this at Hogwarts." Harry told him, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, but it's the summer holidays right now." Ron explained.

"Then go back to bed." Harry said, rolling his eyes.

Just then Remus walked back in the room with Sirius, who hair was sticking up in a similar fashion to Harry's and was nursing a mug of coffee in his hand. Remus walked over to Harry and handed him two pieces of buttered toast, and went to sit back down in his seat. Harry handed Ron one of his pieces of toast, and started to nibble at the other.

"Thanks mate, and I would, but mum wants us to finish cleaning this room today." Ron told him, taking a bite out of his toast.

"Fun." Harry muttered.

He felt his stomach churn uncomfortably from the toast and it tasted like buttered wood, but continued to eat regardless. Finally the twins came down, yawning and stretching their arms out. Fred had his shirt on inside out, but George thought it would be best for him to figure that out on his own. They sat down on opposite arms of the sofa, Fred flinging his arm around Hermione's shoulders while George did the same to Ron, grinning as they all started chatting. Mrs. Weasley pulled the waste basket onto the living room table, along with cleaning supplies and the pot of tea with mugs around it.

"All right you lot," She started, catching their attention, " Now I know we've already worked in this room, but we need to get finished. If you find anything that has the Black family crest, Sirius wants you to throw it away. If it doesn't, you come to one of us and ask. Is that clear?"

Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione nodded and started standing up, crossing the room and going through dusty bookshelves and the cushions on the empty chairs. Mrs. Weasley had her wand pointed to the ground, vanishing any dust bunnies or dirt she could see. Sirius and Remus had picked up _'Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover'_ and were spraying it on some of the stains on the curtains. Mr. Weasley was cleaning the window with his wand.

Harry sat on the couch hesitantly for a moment, not knowing what he should do. Finally, he shrugged and heaved himself up, holding onto the arm of the couch to steady himself as he walked over to the side table. Just as Harry went to open the drawer in it Mrs. Weasley looked over at him, and her eyes widened in alarm on seeing him up off the couch.

"Harry dear, you shouldn't be moving around a lot, go and sit back on the couch, we can manage without you." She said, and started to move towards him to help him sit back down.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine. I don't want to sit around and watch all day, I want to help. Plus, I really want to stretch out my legs." He said, smiling at her.

Mrs. Weasley stood there for a moment, a slight frown on her face as she studied him, having an internal debate.

"Fine, I guess we could use your help," She said after a moment, "But I want you close to something to hold on to, in case you loose your balance."

Harry nodded, and opened the drawer his hand was in front of. Everything inside it was covered in dust, and Harry coughed as he inhaled a puff of it. Inside he found some old magazines, which were crinkled and the colour faded, a couple of broken quills, and oddly enough a few pieces of jewellery. After throwing away the magazines and quills, Harry grabbed the pieces of jewellery and sorted them out. He studied each one closely. Dangling from his fingers were four necklaces, two bearing the Black family crest, and one that had a skull. The last one was a heavy locket, gold with an ornate letter S, which was inlaid with many small, green stones.

Keeping the gold locket dangling from his fingers, Harry threw the two Black family ones away first then, as an after thought, threw away the one with the skull. It, in some way, oddly reminded him of Voldemort. Harry sat on the arm of the couch and brought the locket close to his face, studying it.

"What have you got there, Harry?" Hermione asked, catching a few peoples attention.

"I don't know, some locket. It doesn't have the Black family crest on it, though, just a large S." Harry replied, not taking his eyes off the locket.

Sirius moved a bit closer to take a look at it, curiosity written all over his face, while everyone continued to look over. Harry pondered over whether or not he should touch it, he knew that some objects they found before were cursed, but the locket looked somehow innocent. His curiosity won over, and Harry placed the locket in his hand.

* * *

A/N: I know short chapter, sorry! I'll try to have the next one up tomorrow or the next day, but I won't make any promises.


	13. Chapter 13: Lost and Found

It took everything Harry had not to recoil and drop the locket. The moment it touched the base of his palm he felt a small shock run up his whole arm, only stopping at his shoulder, making him flinch noticeably. The metal of the locket was freezing cold against his warm hand, and Harry felt goosebumps rise on his skin.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked worriedly, watching Harry closely.

Harry looked up and saw everyone was either looking curiously at him or the locket he held in his hand, not understanding what was going on. Harry looked back down at the locket and turned it in his hand. He felt a shudder run down his spine as he thought he felt it pulsing, like it had a heartbeat of its own.

"The locket, it's like it's alive." Harry muttered with surprise in his voice, pressing his fingers harder against the back of the necklace.

Sirius felt his eyes widen at his godson's words, he and the rest of the adults hurried over to Harry and looked down at the locket, searching for any visible sign of dark magic.

"Give it to me." Sirius said, holding his hand out.

Harry obliged and gave it to him, the feeling of unease that had raced through him faded as soon as the locket wasn't touching his skin anymore. Sirius held it tightly in his hand, bringing the face of the locket close to his own as his eyes roamed over it.

"Why do you think it's alive?" Sirius finally asked, looking at Harry with confusion.

"Can't you feel that... that ticking? It's like it has it's own heart." Harry explained, glancing up at Sirius.

"No, I can't feel anything. Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?" Sirius looked at the other adults with concern written on his face, wondering why Harry thought what he did.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George made their way over, curious about what was going on, and sat on the couch Harry was perched on. Harry's face was one of confusion, but inside he couldn't help but feel angry. _Why didn't Sirius believe him? Did he think that he was faking it?_ Remus held out his hand to Sirius, and he dropped the locket into his friends hand, looking up at him briefly with creased eyebrows.

"Harry, I don't feel anything." Remus spoke, looking from the locket to Harry.

Harry studied Remus as he held the locket, and felt his own eyebrows crease together. _What was happening?_ When Remus touched the locket he didn't recoil, no goosebumps raised on his skin, he didn't even shudder from the unusually cold metal. Harry looked around himself and saw everyone looked as confused as he felt.

"I swear I felt something. It shocked me when I held it, didn't you feel it? Can't you feel how cold it is, or how it's ticking?" Harry felt incredibly stupid, asking these questions, but it didn't stop him.

"No." Remus and Sirius said at the same time, looking at Harry as if he had grown a second head.

Harry held his hand out in front of Remus, motioning with his fingers for Remus to give him the locket. With a worried look that spread throughout the room, Remus slowly put the locket onto Harry's palm. Everyone watched in amazement as Harry's whole arm shuddered when the locket touched his skin. They noticed Harry flinch and goosebumps rise on his skin, sharing looks of worry and surprise. Harry hooked a finger around the chain and let the locket dangle from his fingers, not wanting to touch it anymore.

"What's going on? Why am I the only one affected by it?" Harry asked, his voice sounding worried.

"Put the locket down on the table, Harry." Mrs. Weasley said, her eyes looking at the piece of jewellery fearfully.

Harry did as he was told and set the locket down on the table in front of him. He watched as the adults surrounded the table and started to examine it carefully. Interested, the kids behind them peeked over their shoulders to look down at it. Harry sat still on the arm of the chair, his mouth parted as he thought over it. He had never in his life seen that locket, yet he was the only one it would react too. None of it made any sense to him.

"Someone contact Albus, I want him to take a look at this." Remus said.

Harry watched Mr. Weasley walk away from the table and go over to the fireplace behind Harry's couch, grabbing Floo Powder off the mantle. Lighting the fire, he threw the powder onto the flames, and walked in as he shouted his destination. With a whirl of green Mr. Weasley vanished. Harry turned his head again and looked at the group in front of him, staring thoughtfully down at the locket.

"I think I've read about this before, Padfoot." Remus said, using his wand to bring the locket closer to himself.

"Why would this old thing be in a book, Moony?" Sirius asked, his tone was light but Harry could hear curiosity in his voice.

"I don't know but I think it has something to do with Slytherin, it would make sense seeing as there's a large, green S on it." Remus replied, his hand on his chin.

"Maybe that's why it reacted to Harry? Maybe it recognizes him as a Parsalmouth?" Hermione added, in a small voice.

"That would make sense, it could be a Slytherin heirloom." Ginny agreed.

"But what the bloody hell is it doing in my mothers house?" Sirius questioned.

"None of us know, Sirius. This house is full of all sorts of dark objects, someone in your family probably bought it off a dark wizard or something along those lines anyway." Mrs. Weasley said, keeping a short distance from the locket.

Sirius sighed and rubbed his temple, frustrated and confused. Everyone sat in silence, not knowing what to say, just as confused as the next person. Remus walked over to Harry and sat down on the arm of the couch with him. He put an arm around Harry's shoulders and Harry let his body lean against Remus gratefully. The back of the couch had been poking into his own painfully and he didn't want to waste the energy he had gained trying to keep himself sitting up. George got up and offered his spot on the couch to his mother, who thanked him with a smile on her face and sat down next to the rest of her children, while George sat on the other arm of the couch. The flames in the fireplace turned green as it rose suddenly, and Mr. Weasley came tumbling out, catching his balance at the last second.

"Albus is right behind me." He told everyone, wiping soot off his clothes.

Mr. Weasley moved out of the way, taking off his glasses and cleaning them the Muggle way, as Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace. Dumbledore didn't say anything at first, but used his wand to vanish any soot that clung to his robes, and then pocketed it.

"Arthur has informed me that Harry has found a strange locket." Dumbledore said, looking at everyone gathered around the table.

"Yes, and did he tell you why it's strange?" Mrs. Weasley asked, glancing over at her husband.

"He did mention, as he rushed me out of my office that it acted rather oddly when Harry touched it." Dumbledore replied, making Mr. Weasley look down at the ground sheepishly.

Dumbledore went over to where Arthur and Sirius stood by the table, and looked down at the object in question. Remus noticed that Dumbledore looked surprised as his eyes studied the locket, and slowly reached his hand out to grab it.

"Do you know what it is?" Sirius asked as Dumbledore grabbed the locket tightly in his withered hand.

"I believe I do but, of course, I am only guessing. I thought he may have made another besides the diary, but I couldn't be sure..." Dumbledore muttered the last part under his breath.

"Do you think if Harry spoke Parsaltongue to make it open, we could figure out what it might be?" Hermione asked shyly from the couch.

"If what I believe is correct then it would be unwise to open it at the moment." Dumbledore responded quietly.

"Sir?" Harry asked hesitantly after a moment of silence, "What do you believe it to be?"

"A very dark piece of magic." Dumbledore told him.

Mrs. Weasley gasped loudly from her seat on the couch, her eyes looking fretfully over at Harry, as if looking for any visible sign of dark magic on him. Remus and Sirius shared a look, both of them hearing a slight quiver in Dumbledore's voice.

"Albus?" Remus asked, wanting more of a explanation.

"I would like for the adults to follow me into the kitchen, while the children wait here, we'll only be a moment." Dumbledore ordered in a voice no one could argue with.

Remus, Sirius, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hurried out of the room with Dumbledore while the kids were left to look at each other in annoyance and confusion. Harry picked up the fear in Dumbledore's tone as quickly as Remus and Sirius did, and knew the locket had to be very dark magic, something that would actually scare Dumbledore. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine.

"What do they think they're playing at? We have as much right to know as they do!" George cried in an annoyed voice, looking angrily at the door in front of him.

"Maybe if you all stopped whining, they would actually trust us enough to know!" Ginny hissed, "I'm sick and tired of hearing you complain about it all the time, it isn't going to change anything!"

Harry turned his head away and smirked, glad he wasn't the one Ginny was mad at, she had quite the temper._ Maybe that's why I like her_, Harry thought, _she doesn't take shit from anyone_. Harry gave his head a slight shake, trying to rid himself of the thought. Stop it, you can't think of her like that, she's Ron's sister. Looking back over at the Weasleys and Hermione, he ignored the argument between Ginny and her twin brothers. His eyes looked over Hermione and Ron, who both were unusually quiet.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked them both.

"It worries me, that locket. Why would it only respond to your touch? I know it scares Dumbledore, and that's enough to scare me." Hermione told him, her eyebrows creased together.

Ron put a reassuring arm around her, but looked at Harry as he spoke.

"I know it worries you, hell, it worries all of us. But Dumbledore will take care of it. He always does, he's the one with all the answers. He'll find a way."

Hermione gave a nod, and Harry ran his fingers through his hair, a habit he had recently acquired, and gave a small smile to his friends who were looking up at him. He trusted Dumbledore, he knew he would find a way to take care of the problem, but he couldn't shake off the way he felt when that damn locket touched his skin. Harry didn't know how, but he knew he had something to do with that locket. It only affected him, right?

"I know he will."

* * *

Molly and Arthur sat down at the dining room table, while Remus leaned against the sink, knowing he couldn't sit still for long. He smiled as he watched Sirius standing next to him, tapping his fingers against the counter impatiently as Dumbledore sat down next to the Weasleys. The locket was still gripped tightly in his hand and, after what they had told him about the locket, they were surprised Dumbledore was still holding onto it.

"What's going on, Albus?" Molly finally asked, not in the mood to wait for answers.

"Do you all remember the incident in Ms. Weasley's first year? The diary she had kept that whole year?" Dumbledore started, setting the locket in front of him.

"Yes, somehow V-V-, You-Know-Who preserved a sixteen year old memory of himself in that damn diary, and Ginny wrote to him all year. You explained everything to us in your office that day when Harry saved her in the Chamber of Secrets. I don't understand how the diary has anything to do with this." Arthur said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"If my guess is correct, Arthur, it has everything to do with this." Dumbledore told him.

"No," Remus gasped, "Are you saying Voldemort can possess that locket?"

"Not exactly," Dumbledore reassured him, "But close. I always thought that Tom Riddle- Voldemort, would make one or try to, but never did I imagine he would try to make more. If I know him like I think I do then I think he would use the strongest magical number... seven..." Dumbledore started to ramble.

"Albus, can you please tell us what you're muttering about!" Sirius hissed, his impatience getting the best of him.

"I believe that Voldemort is trying to make himself immortal, or the closest he can get to it with magic, no matter how dark it may be. The magic he has used is very complex, and I think I know how he found out how to use it. The magic I am speaking of involves ripping the soul apart, and putting the ripped pieces into objects to keep them save, and can only be destroyed with something that will make these objects beyond magical repair." Dumbledore told them, resting his elbows on the table and leaning his chin into his left hand.

"So, this locket is one of Voldemort's soul-keeper's?" Remus asked in disgust.

"Yes, this is a Horcrux." Dumbledore replied gravely.

* * *

The adults came back after a half hour of talking, and Mrs. Weasley informed her children, along with Hermione and Harry, that they were done cleaning for the day. Harry raised his eyebrows but said no more, and glanced over at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace, which told him it was only eleven in the morning. Remus went over to the fireplace to call Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley to come over, and the kids walked out of the room, knowing they were going to be shooed out at some point. Quietly ascending the stairs, Harry and Ron walked side by side up the stairs, just in case Harry felt weaker than he did and needed any help going up. They all walked into a sitting room on the second floor, which Fred and George usually used to test some of their joke products, and sat down in the chairs that were scattered around the room.

"What do you think they were talking about?" Fred asked, his body draped across the chair he was sitting in.

"The locket." Ron replied bluntly.

"We know that, you idiot. What I meant was what exactly is that locket? We all know it's some type of dark magic, maybe they were trying to figure out what kind of dark magic it was?" George told him, his tone serious.

"Maybe, that would explain why they didn't want us listening in. But I know that this is something big, or it wouldn't worry Dumbledore so much. They could of throw it away or destroyed it with their wands if it wasn't anything big, but I don't think it's that simple." Hermione agreed, adding her own thoughts.

"Hermione's right," Ginny said from her chair, "I don't think it's gonna be that simple. But like Ron was saying before, Dumbledore will find a way, he always does. I'm sure this thing will blow over in a few days, and the Order will have found a way to get rid of it."

Harry looked around at everyone, and saw they were nodding at Ginny's words. He didn't think it would be as easy as Ginny made it sound, but found himself nodding along regardless, not wanting to draw attention to himself as he thought over it. Something about that locket gave him the chills, it made him feel uneasy and somehow fearful. There was something about that locket that felt familiar with Harry though, he just couldn't place it...


	14. Chapter 14: Fudge's Fears

Moody came through the fireplace first, wanting to take a quick look at the locket before the two Auror's showed up, and asked a few questions about it. Minutes later Tonks and Kingsley stumbled out, grinning madly as they told everyone a warrant was out for Rita Skeeter's arrest. Sirius and Remus shared an amused look, and Sirius wrapped an arm around his cousins shoulder and pretended to cry in the crook of her neck, crying around how proud he was of her.

"Of stop being so dramatic, Sirius." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, pushing Sirius off her shoulder.

Sirius smirked at her before he walked over to Remus, and sat down next to him in the couch. Everyone else seated themselves around the room, and looked over towards Dumbledore, who had conjured a chair and placed it in the middle of the sofa's, and sat down.

"Dumbledore," Kingsley started, "I have a message to give you from Mi-"

"Can't it wait, ladie? I think what Dumbledore is about to tell you is more important." Moody interrupted, his fake eye spinning in Kingsley's direction.

Kingsley nodded, trying to keep his face straight and hide his annoyance at the old Auror. Tonks sent Moody a quick glare, but he had turned his attention to Dumbledore before he could notice. Dumbledore briefly explained to them about the Horcrux, informing them how dark and dangerous they were. At the end of his explanation he asked them if they knew any means of destroying anything beyond magical repair, but the Auror's couldn't think of anything, thinking over everything they had learned in all their years as Auror's.

"I would also like for anyone to look for anything that might of been in the possession of any of the Founder's of Hogwart's when they were alive." Dumbledore told everyone.

Confused looks ran thoughout the room, and Sirius looked at Dumbledore like he was more madder than he already was.

"I think that Voldemort would of made any Horcruxes out of any Founder's possession's. Take the locket for example, this used to belong to Salazar Slytherin himself. I believe he got everything but Gryffindor, as I have the Sorting Hat and Sword that belonged to Godric Gryffindor himself." Dumbledore told them, answering the questions running through their heads.

"I know Helga Hufflepuff had some kind of cup, I remember reading about it in a book when I was researching a paper when I was at Hogwarts." Tonks said, her hair turning blonde as she sunk into deep thought.

"I remember a Ravenclaw friend of mine telling me about a lost diadem a couple of years ago, but like I said, it's lost. Do you think You-Know-Who might of found it?" Kingsley added.

"If he was desperate enough, I believe he would of." Dumbledore replied to him, a hand on his chin as he thought.

"That would make four. That diary, locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and Ravenclaw's diadem. You believe he would of made seven, Albus?" Moody said.

"Yes, I'm trying to think of what else he could of made a Horcrux out of..." Dumbledore trailed off into thought.

"Wasn't there a message you needed to give to Albus, Kingsley?" Arthur said, the thought suddenly popping into his mind.

"Yes, thank you Arthur," Kingsley said, and turned his attention to Dumbledore. "Minister Fudge requested a meeting with you, to talk about Hogwarts and the kidnapping."

Dumbledore sighed and stroked his beard, looking more like the old man he really was. He checked the gold watch on his wrist, and stood up from his chair.

"I have some time left before I need to help Hagrid with the animals he bought for the new year. If any of you need me please don't hesitate to call, I'll be in my office at Hogwarts if you need me." Dumbledore told them, heading towards the fire.

"Albus," Sirius started, standing up from his spot, "Have the meeting with Fudge here. I'll stay upstairs with the kids, keep them busy for a while."

"I have invaded your privacy enough, Sirius." Dumbledore said with a small smile, "I've over-stayed my welcome."

"Nonsense," Sirius said with a wave of his hand, "I insist. Besides, wouldn't it be easier that Harry's here? If Fudge doubt's anything you say about Voldemort's return, we bring Harry down and show Fudge all of his injuries. It's enough evidence, I would think." He explained.

Dumbledore thought over it for a moment, looking at Sirius over my half-moon spectacle's.

"If you insist," He said with a sigh, "I'll call Fudge now. You may want to head up right now then, Sirius. He might come over as soon I tell he may. Plus, the children will need a explanation as to why they aren't allowed downstairs at the moment."

Sirius nodded, and with a grin on his face, headed towards the stairs. Molly got up form the sofa and grabbed the pot of tea off the coffee table, and went to the kitchen to make a new pot of it, while Dumbledore headed over to the fireplace and threw Floo powder in.

"Minister of Magic's Office!" He said, and stuck his head in the fire.

Moody gave a quick goodbye to everyone in the room, and started to walk towards the front door to leave, not thinking he could be in the same room with that 'moron of a minister'. Arthur, Remus, Kingsley and Tonks were quietly talking about any new Death Eater sightings to break the silence. After a few minutes Dumbledore pulled his head out of the fire, using his wand to vanish any soot that stuck to him, and walked over to his chair in the middle of the two chairs facing each other.

"What did he say?" Remus asked as Molly walked back in, a steaming pot of tea clutched in her hands.

"He'll be here in a few moments." Dumbledore replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Should I be here? Or should I join Sirius and the kids upstairs?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Please, feel free to stay. You might be able to help me out when he asks about Harry's kidnapping." Dumbledore told him with a sad smile.

Remus nodded and grabbed himself a chipped mug, and poured some tea into it. Tonks put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he looked at her with a smile on his face, her hair now a dull orange with dark blue eyes. He then quickly looked away as he felt a blush coming on, and took a sip out of his mug for something to do. The room filled with silence, waiting for the moment they would have to speak of the horror's Harry barely escaped a few days ago. Suddenly the fire roared and turned green, and Cornelius Fudge stumbled out, coughing out soot that had entered his mouth. Fixing his bowler hat and wiping his robes off, Fudges eyes searched the room for a moment, taking in everyone who was there.

"Dumbledore," He started with a slight nod of his head, "I trust Auror Kingsley had informed you of what we need to talk about?" He asked.

"He did," Dumbledore assured him with a small smile, "And what is it that you need me to inform you about right now? " Dumbledore questioned curiously.

Fudge walked over by Dumbledore and conjured his own chair, his eyes flickering to each person in the room before he sat down, and kept his eyes on Dumbledore.

"First off, most importantly, to capture and rescue of Harry Potter." Fudge replied, almost hesitantly.

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a nod, "It is quite a story. Although I feel I would be wasting my breath, as you do not believe the person who captured him is alive, I really see no reason to bother you with the story."

Fudge squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, feeling all eyes on him.

"Now Dumbledore, you know I only believe such because I have no evidence to support it, and seeing as such I wouldn't scare the Wizarding World about what could be nothing." Fudge explained, wiping the sweat off his hands on his trousers.

"What would you say if I told you I have evidence. We both know of one spell only Voldemort himself uses on his victims, seeing as he created the spell. No Death Eater has ever used the spell, in respect for their master. Harry has wounds healing on his back from the Retrorsum Vellit Curse, which can only heal the Muggle way as of now." Dumbledore told him, watching Fudge carefully.

Fudges eyes widened a bit, and he took a audible gulp. He thought over Dumbledores words, searching for anything in his words to make him believe he was being lied to, but found nothing. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the sweat off his brow and looked back over at Dumbledore.

"And can you produce such evidence?" He asked hesitantly.

"Indeed." Dumbledore replied, and looked over at Remus. "Will you please go get Harry from his room upstairs and bring him down please?"

Remus nodded and stood up quickly from his seat, setting down his mug on the table in front of him before making his way out of the room, and hurried up the stairs. The room once again waited in silence, and Mrs. Weasley stood up and poured everyone a mug of tea, using her wand to send them out to everyone.

"Thank you, my dear." Fudge said, looking over at her with a kind smile on his face, and taking a small sip out of his cup.

A minute later they could hear people descending the stairs, talking in hushed voices. The creak on the floorboards announced they were walking towards the room, and within seconds Remus walked in, his arms wrapped around Harry's shoulders. Harry gave a small smile, and eyed Fudge worriedly, already knowing from Sirius what he was going to be asked.

"It's good to see you, Harry." Fudge said after a moment, and Harry was sitting next to Remus on the sofa.

"Hello Minister." Harry replied hesitantly.

Dumbledore turned his body towards Harry, studying him curiously for a moment before he began.

"I believe Remus filled you in on everything?" He asked.

Harry nodded, tearing his eyes away from Fudge to look at Dumbledore, "Yes he did, Sir."

"Excellent. Now, Minister Fudge has said that he needs actual proof that Lord Voldemort has returned, and luckily enough you have that proof healing on your back. Will you please lift your shirt and show Minister Fudge the wounds that were inflicted upon your back?" Dumbledore said.

With the help of Remus, Harry stood up and walked over to stand right in front of Fudge, and turned around. Harry gripped one of Remus' arms as he used his other arm to pull his shirt up a bit, all the way up to show the bandages covering his back, blood staining through them. Remus grabbed his wand out of his pocket and waved it around Harry's back, making the bandages disappear. Harry sucked in a deep breath as the air hit his wounds, and kept his body tense. Fudge looked at his back with wide eyes, getting off his chair and walking up to Harry to get a closer look, and studied the wounds closely.

The rest of the adults watched Fudge, wondering what he was thinking. They all worried that Fudge wouldn't believe what he was seeing, and the Wizarding World would continue to be unaware of the return of Lord Voldemort. Not only did Fudge see the three long cuts along Harry's back, he saw how weak and white Harry looked, he could see the little cuts that covered his hand and parts of his body, his tired eyes and his sudden weight loss. It all finally clicked in Fudges mind, he knew no one in this room would lie about who did this, they wanted justice for it. Remus could see the understanding in his eyes, and with a smile he led Harry over to the couch, watching as Tonks summoned bandages and placed them carefully on Harry's back.

"I-It's true." Fudge stuttered, stumbling back into his chair, his mouth open in what seemed shock.

Dumbledore let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and watched as everyone else gave a small sigh, and how Harry looked a bit annoyed.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "And know you know Voldemort is back..." He trailed off.

"I need to inform the Auror's and Daily Prophet right away." Fudge muttered, his brain rushing through everything he now needed to do.

"We can help you with that." Kingsley said, standing up from his seat, and after finishing putting the bandage's on Harry's back, Tonks did as well.

Fudge nodded numbly, holding onto the arm of the chair as he stood up, his face pale and worried. Kingsley and Tonks made their way to the fireplace, waiting by it as Fudge walked over to Dumbledore, who was getting out of the chair he conjured.

"I'm sorry, Albus," Fudge started, sincerity and guilt in his voice, "I should of believe you when you told me after the Third Task, but-"

"But you didn't want to believe it, you didn't want to deal with everything that Voldemort's return would bring you." Dumbledore cut in, his voice calm.

Fudge flinched as though Dumbledore had slapped him, knowing his words were true.

"There is still time," Dumbledore continued, "to inform everyone about his return, before too much damage is made. Do what you need to do, Cornelius, and if you need me I'll be by your side."

"Thank you, Albus. I'll contact you after I inform the Ministry of You-Know-Who's return." Fudge said with a weak smile.

Dumbledore nodded, and he and Fudge shook hands. After a moment Fudge cleared his throat, and started to walk over towards the fireplace as Kingsley grabbed the Floo powder off the mantle. Fudge turned around and looked at everyone in the room with guilty eyes, and they stopped on Harry as he spoke.

"Thank you all for your time, and I'm terribly sorry for my grave mistake."

And with that he, Kingsley, and Tonks walked into the fireplace, all shouting the same destination, Fudge completely forgetting about wanting to ask Dumbledore if he had found a new Professor for DADA at Hogwarts. The room sat in stunned silence for a moment, as if hardly believing what just happened. Remus finally cracked a smile, and carefully put a arm around Harry's shoulders, ruffling his hair slightly.

"You did it, pup! You got Fudge to finally believe us!" He whispered excitedly.

Harry felt his lips curve into a smile, finding Remus' excitement amusing. Harry felt relieved, glad that Fudge finally saw the truth, that he wouldn't be made out as a liar to the Wizarding World anymore. Dumbledore vanished the chair Fudge had conjured with a flick of his wrist, beaming over at Harry and Remus. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got off their couch, walking over towards the couch Harry and Remus sat on, and Mrs. Weasley pulled Harry into a warm hug, careful not to touch his wounds while her husband sat down on Remus' free side. Harry put his arms around her, closing his eyes as he took in the comfort she was giving him, as if telling him everything was going to be alright. They stayed like that for a moment, and then at the same time they started to pull away. Before Mrs. Weasley fully pulled away from him, she turned her head and whispered in his ear.

"You mother and father would be proud of how strong you are."

And then she let go of him, beaming at him with tearful eyes as she sat down on his other side. Harry gave a choked smile, a warm feeling spreading through his chest at her words.

"Would you like to inform your friends and godfather about what just happened?" Dumbledore asked Harry, his eyes twinkling merrily down at Harry.

"Yes, sir." Harry said, quickly standing up from the couch.

"Do you need me to help you?" Remus asked, starting to sit up.

"No thanks, I think I got it." Harry muttered with a smile.

Remus sighed and sat back down, watching Harry as he hurried as fast as he could over to the stairs, clutching the railing as he climbed up. By the time Harry made it up the stairs to the second floor, his heart was beating fast and he struggled to catch his breath, but he hurried into the room he knew Sirius was waiting in with the Weasley's and Hermione. Harry opened the door slowly, peeking in before he walk in the door, shutting the down behind him. Hermione and Ginny were sitting on a sofa together, looking at a magazine Ginny was holding in her hands. Sirius, Fred, George, and Ron were all sitting in a circle on the floor, reading the piece of parchment Fred and George had wrote idea's out on for their joke shop, all of them snickering over something they wrote. All heads turned to him the moment the door shut, and Harry saw Fred trying to hide the piece of parchment.

"Bloody hell, Harry! You scared me, I thought you were mum for a moment." Fred exclaimed, setting the parchment back in front of him.

"What happened?" Sirius asked eagerly, getting off the floor.

Harry stared at him for a moment, before he broke out into a smile.

"Fudge believes us." Harry replied, watching as everyone beamed at his words.

* * *

A/N: I'm ssoooooooo sorry! I haven't posted in a little while and I feel so guilty! I've been super busy though, so don't hate me too much. Is anyone a Mortal Instrument's fan? I'm soo excited for City Of Heavenly Fire to come out!


	15. Chapter 15: The New Professor

Harry stared down at the parchment, wracking his brain for the answer to the question written in front of him. Looking across from him, he could see Ron was having the same problem. _Why did Hermione and Mrs. Weasley choose the day that he and Ron finally started on their summer homework to go to Diagon Alley? They still had about a week or so until they needed to return to Hogwarts, couldn't the supplies wait?_ Ron looked up from his own homework, meeting his eyes, and Harry knew they were thinking the same. Sighing, Harry returned his eyes to his homework, and made a wild guess at the answer. His mind thought over the last few days as he stared blankly at the next question, and felt his lips curve into a smile. After two days of waiting, the Daily Prophet finally came out with the truth about Voldemort yesterday, claiming that evidence had come up to prove it.

Harry remembered Remus pulling him aside as everyone else in the room celebrated, telling him the only reason why the story had been delayed was because an employee close to Fudge, Umbridge, who Harry vaguely remembered, protested against the story being published. After a shouting match that most people in the Atrium heard, Umbridge managed to get herself fired from the Ministry of Magic. Hardly realizing what she was saying, she had accidentally let slip that she was the one who sent the Dementors to Little Whinging, right in front of Fudge. Harry could hear the relish in Remus' voice as he told them this and briefly wondered why, before the twins had pulled him away and started telling him more of their ideas for the joke shop.  
Leaning back in his chair, Harry threw his quill onto the table and stretched his arms over his head, wincing slightly as the tender skin on his back stretched painfully.

His back was still healing the Muggle way, while the rest of his wounds were just about gone, just sore to the touch. His stomach felt uncomfortably heavy from the breakfast that morning that Mrs. Weasley had forced him to eat, still concerned about his bony body. Sirius had said James was skinny and small for his age too, but still agreed with Mrs. Weasley, saying that not even Harry's dad was that skinny. Harry had rolled his eyes but said nothing, knowing they were both right. His shirts and trousers hung more loosely than they usually did, and his ribs were sickeningly visible through the skin on his chest. Sirius walked into the dining room, an empty sup of tea in his hands, and chuckled as he looked at Ron and Harry.

"Trouble with homework?" He asked with a smirk, pulling out a chair and sitting next to Ron.

Harry glanced over at Ron, and they both rolled their eyes. Sirius saw and laughed, grabbing Ron's paper and reading over it quickly, then setting it back.

"C'mon, it can't be that hard! Hermione had her paper done before she even showed up here!" Sirius exclaimed sarcastically.

"Well she's a bloody genius, isn't she?" Ron muttered, scribbling down an answer.

"Tsk, tsk, Ron, wrong answer." Sirius said, watching Ron write out his answer, "The Aparecium Spell makes invisible ink become visible, not 'makes ink become invisible.' Honestly." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry snickered as Ron muttered irritably under his breath, crossing out his answer and writing what Sirius just told him.

So, is there any reason you came down here other than to annoy us?" Harry asked.

"As a matter of fact yes," Sirius said, " I need to talk to you, Harry. In private." He added, glancing at Ron.

Harry nodded and got off his chair, forgetting about his homework as he gave Ron a quick wave, and walked into the other room with Sirius. Harry sat down on the counter as Sirius put his cup in the sink, and watched as the sponge in the sink started to clean the cup for him.

"What's up?" Harry asked as Sirius sat on the counter opposite him.

"Well, er, I'm just concerned about you going back to Hogwarts." Sirius started.

Harry could see were he was going with this, and shook his head with disbelief.

"You're joking! I'm not staying here while everyone else goes back to Hogwarts, no way!" Harry exclaimed.

"The wound on your back isn't even fully healed yet, and you're still weak-"

"I'm not letting Voldemort have the satisfaction of knowing how much he hurt me," Harry cut in, "I'll be fine to go back. Hogwarts is one of the safest places right now, everyone knows Voldemort's back, so the castle will have more protection than ever!"

Sirius sighed, and ran his fingers though his shaggy, black hair, "I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you." He muttered.

The anger Harry felt swelling inside him vanished, and he smiled over at his godfather.

"You know Dumbledore will be keeping an eye on me, I know he will. And besides, it isn't like any of the teacher's are out to get me, right?" Harry said with a small laugh.

"'Course not, Dumbledore hired someone almost as good as Moony for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Sirius told him, a smirk growing on his face.

"Dumbledore never mentioned anything about the new DADA teacher when he was here, who is it?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I don't know if I should tell you, don't you want to be surprised?" Sirius asked, pretending to consider it.

"Oh c'mon, Sirius! Stop messing around and tell me!" Harry said with mock annoyance.

"Fine, Tonks is taking time off from the Ministry to work at Hogwarts." Sirius told him.

"You're joking!" Harry said in shock.

"No, I'm Sirius." He replied with a straight face.

"That joke got old ages ago." Harry said, chuckling as he shook his head.  
"Did not! It's been around since I was at Hogwarts."

"Exactly my point." Harry said with a straight face, pushing himself off the counter and leaning against it.

"You scrawny git." Sirius muttered.

Harry chuckled, hearing the comment, and grabbed his half empty bottle of Butterbeer off the counter from earlier.

"Hold on, back to Tonks. I thought the Ministry would be appointing a new teacher for Defense." Harry said, his voice full of curiosity.

"They would only do that if Dumbledore couldn't find a teacher in time, and they were afraid that Dumbledore would hire someone to help him train you all in combat." Sirius said with a shrug.

"Combat? You're telling me the Ministry actually thought Dumbledore wanted to train us up to fight against them?" Harry's eyes bulged out of his head.

"Biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever heard if you ask me." Sirius told Harry.

"Sirius Orion Black!" A voice scolded behind Harry.

Harry whipped around at the sudden noise, his body tense. He let a breath out when he saw it was only Mrs. Weasley, her arms full of bags. Ron was standing next to her, snickering at the look of surprise of Sirius' face. Hermione and Ginny walked in after Ron, there arms too, loaded with bags. As Mrs. Weasley set her bags on the counter, Hermione and Ginny struggled to keep a hold of everything in their arms. Ron moved over and helped Hermione with her bags since he was closest to her, while Harry hurried over to help Ginny.

"You don't need to help me, Harry. I've got it all, plus you should be resting." Ginny told him with a smile that made his heart flutter.

"I'm not that delicate, I can carry a few bags." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Harry grabbed most of the bags out of her arms, briefly brushing his fingers against her arms as he did. His fingertips felt hot, and he turned away from her before she could see the goosebumps that erupted on his skin. As he set the bags on the counter Hermione caught his eye, a knowing look on her face as she smirked at him, her eyes flickering to Ginny for a moment. Harry felt his eyes widen a bit, and he shook his head at her, pointing with his eyes towards Ron. Hermione gave a quiet snort and rolled her eyes, giving him a look that said 'we'll talk later'.

"Merlin's beard, Molly, what did you buy?" Sirius asked, his eyes roaming over all the bags.

"All their school supplies they needed, more food for here, clothes, and potions for Harry." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"When did we get our Hogwarts letters?" Harry asked, his eyebrows creased together in confusion, "I've been waiting for the past few days for them to come."

"Harry, we got them the day before - before we found you." Ginny said hesitantly.

Harry gave a small flinch at the reminder of his capture, and gave a small nod. Sirius walked over to a drawer in the kitchen and grabbed a piece of parchment, he hurried over and handed it to Harry. Harry looked over the list quickly, and gave a small frown.

"There's only two new ones," He said, "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, and Self-Defense Spellwork."  
"Who do you reckon is the new Defense teacher?" Ginny asked, peering over Harry's shoulder to look at his list of school books.

"Some lunatic probably." Ron muttered.

"Oi! I take offense to that!" Sirius called from across the room.

"Why? There's no way you can be the new teacher, the Ministry still thinks your a criminal." Hermione said, looking at Sirius as if he had gone mad.

"Please, I would never be a teacher," Sirius gave a fake shudder, "I just don't like you insulting my lovely cousins sanity."

"What are you - wait, T-Tonks?" Ron spluttered.

"Yes, Ickle Ronikins, gold star to you for getting something right for once." Fred said, leaning against the doorway with George.

Harry glanced over at them, and could see a small piece of string from an Extendable Ear dangling out of George's pocket. Ron glared over at his brother, picking up a scroll of parchment from the counter and playfully throwing it at Fred, who whipped out his wand and flicked it, freezing the parchment in mid-air.

"Very mature, Ron. It's a wonder you were made Prefect." Ginny said with a smirk on her face.

"Prefect? Ron was made Prefect?!" Harry exclaimed, turning his head towards Ron.

"There's no need to sound so surprised." Ron said with a mock glare at Harry.

"Well no one told me." Harry told him, shock written on his face.

"To be honest I totally forgot, there were, um, more important things going on." Ron muttered, glancing down at his feet.

Harry felt as if he had swallowed an ice cube, closing his eyes for a moment at the second mention of his capture. When he opened his eyes he found sympathetic stares aimed at him, and cleared his throat.

"What else happened?" He asked, eager to change the subject.

"I was made prefect too!" Hermione told him excitedly.

Harry smiled at her, giving both her and Ron his congratulations. He could feel Sirius' eyes on him, but tried his best to ignore him and look away, giving a mental groan inside his head. Sirius would want to talk, Harry knew that. Their conversation from earlier wasn't finished yet. After everyone got their school supplies sorted out, Mrs. Weasley asked them to take them up to their rooms, so that they could start packing before they left for Hogwarts in three days. Harry gathered all his robes, books, potions ingredients, quills, and parchment in his arms. Then he stumbled over to the stairs with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in front of him, and Fred and George following behind him, their arms full of supplies as well.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned the corner as they reached the landing, heading towards their rooms, while Harry and the twins turned the other way, their rooms next to each other. Harry made it to his room and kicked at the door to open it, stumbling into the wall next to him as he lost his balance. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, his body colliding with the wall painfully, rattling his injuries. He heard a few cracks as something fell to the floor, and opened his eyes, giving a frustrated sigh as he looked down at the broken vials of potion ingredients scattered on the floor.

"Need any help?" One of the twins asked, reminding Harry of the train ride in his first year.

Harry looked up and saw George, he had his wand out and was looking down at the mess on the ground.

"Yeah, thanks." Harry replied, leaning against the wall and getting a better grip on everything in his hands.

With a flick of his wand George fixed the vials, the ingredients flying back inside. George bent down to pick them up, and Harry could see Fred hurrying over behind him.

"Everything alright?" He asked, glancing down at George before looking over at Harry.

Harry's back throbbed in irritation, but he tried to ignore it and nodded to Fred. Fred looked at him wearily, as if he didn't believe him for a moment, but looked away and grabbed the potion ingredients out of George's arms so he could help Harry with the rest of his things. Harry followed the twins into his and Sirius' room, dumping all the things on his bed for him to pack later.

"Is that everything?" George asked, his eyes wandering around the room.

"Yeah, it is. Thanks you guys." Harry said, sorting out his clothes from his school supplies.

"No problem, young Harry." They both winked at him and bowed deeply.

Harry laughed and shook his head, watching the twins leave and shut the door behind them. He sat down on his bed and ran his fingers through his hair, making a mental note to ask Mrs. Weasley if she could try to cut it for him. He'd forgotten to ask her to do it when he got to Grimmauld place, with everything that had been going on recently. The thought brought Sirius back into his mind, and the conversation they had earlier in the kitchen. Harry knew that people would talk about what happened, some awkward questions would be asked, but if they all knew that Voldemort was back, wasn't it worth it?

* * *

Harry huffed out a breath as he shut the top of his Hogwarts trunk, locking the sides with a flick of his finger. He looked around the room, which now looked strangely empty without all his stuff scattered around. Harry heaved the trunk off his bed and set it near the door, it would be easier to grab in the morning. He walked out of the room, went down the hall to Ron's room, and opened the door. He stood there for a moment, looking around the empty room with confusion. Hadn't Ron walked in his room only moments ago telling Harry to meet him and Hermione there? Shaking his head as he rolled his eyes, Harry walked over to the stairs and started to climb down, faintly hearing voices echoing from downstairs.

When he reached the landing he looked around, straining his ears to find out which room everyone was in. After a moment of standing alone in the hall, Harry figured everyone was gathered in the living room. He set off down the corridor, walking as fast as he could, and turned the corner.

Right away Harry could tell something was wrong. Hermione and Ron were backing away from the others who were standing in front of them, obviously trying to leave without anyone noticing. Remus, Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were all looking towards someone Harry couldn't see, but by the way everyone was talking, he doubted it was Dumbledore. The person gave a response so quiet Harry couldn't hear it, but guessed that they had said the wrong thing when Sirius started yelling at them.

"How dare you say that! Hasn't he been through enough already? Do you think Harry is ready to do anything of that sort yet? You need to leave, before I make you."

Sirius was beyond angry - he was enraged. Harry didn't like this side of Sirius, he was unpredictable and acted before thinking. Again, the person was talking, but it still sounded like mumbles to Harry, who couldn't hear a word of what they were saying. Sirius let out a dog-like growl and started to make his way across the room, but Remus stepped in front of him and put his hands on Sirius' shoulders, holding him back.

"Calm down, Padfoot." He said in a soothing voice, but even he looked like he was seconds away from punching someone.

Harry took the opportunity to glance at the person they all were crowded around, able to see now that Remus had moved out of the way. A jolt of fear shook Harry as he stared into cold black eyes, his heart started to race inside his chest and his body tensed for a moment, a familiar horrible feeling of dread filling him before he could clear his mind.

"You!" He yelled, startling everyone in the room, who turned to look at him with wide eyes.

Harry thrust his hand into his pocket, gripping his wand tightly in his fingers before drawing it out, and pointing it directly at Snape.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, looking at him with wide eyes.

Harry started forward furiously, stopping when he was only a few feet away from Snape, the wand in his hand pointed right at his heart. Snape had not drawn his wand, but looked at Harry with an expression he did not recognize. He didn't care. Remus let go of Sirius, both were watching Harry in disbelief.

"How could you let him into the house?" Harry started with a yell, "He's a Death Eater for crying out loud!"

"Harry," Sirius started, finding his voice, "You've got the wrong idea, Snape is on our side-"

"No he isn't!" Harry roared his interruption, red sparks flying out of his wand and narrowly missing Snape.

"He's a death Eater, I saw him! He works for Voldemort - he's in his inner circle!"

"Don't do anything stupid, Potter." Snape said, lacking his usual sneer.

"Or what? Are you going to torture me like you did back at the Riddle House with your Death Eater buddies? Torture me until I can't think straight again?" Harry snapped, his hand starting to tremble.

Harry heard the intake of breath around him, he hadn't mentioned anything that had happened to him at the Riddle House since telling Dumbledore, they all knew Harry was too angry to care about anything he said.

"Potter, I-" Snape started, but Harry cut him off.

"Don't deny it, I saw you standing with all the other Death Eaters! Did you enjoy putting the Cruciatus Curse on me? Did you laugh when I screamed out in agony, laugh at how stupid I looked twitching and thrashing on the ground-"

"Stop it!" Hermione yelled, her face stricken.

Harry stopped and turned, glaring at everyone in the room until he came back to his senses. His eyes widened as he realized what they had heard him yell, a look of horror on his face. He dropped his wand to his side, his fingers still clutching it tightly, but he turned fully away from Snape and looked at everyone else in the room apologetically.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean for anyone to hear what I-" Harry started, his voice cracking slightly.

"It's okay, lets get you out of here." Mr. Weasley said, walking over to Harry and putting an arm around his shoulders, "You all finish up in here, me and the kids will be in the kitchen." He told the adults in the room, his eyes on Sirius.

Mr. Weasley beckoned Ron and Hermione towards him, who followed him wordlessly as he steered Harry out of the room, down into the hall and into the kitchen. Harry sat down at the kitchen table, hiding his face in his arms as Ron and Hermione stood by the table, their eyes flickering from Harry to Mr. Weasley, who was at the fridge.

"Butterbeer anyone? We have that, pumpkin juice, firewhiskey, wait, forget I said that, you're too young for it."

No one answered him, but looked at each other nervously. Harry refused to look at any of them, but focused his stare on the table in front of him, feeling humiliated and furious. Ron and Hermione finally sat down next to him, silently debating whether one of them should speak up or not. After a minute Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron but nodded, silently agreeing to speak up.

"Harry-" She started.

"I don't want your pity." Harry snapped, finally looking up at them.

"I don't-"

"Don't lie. Just don't. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice, just don't lie to me." Harry said quietly.

Hermione looked lost, and she could feel tears start to form in her eyes as she looked at Harry, who was staring back at her with his own haunted green ones. Harry, who saw the tears forming, gave Ron an alarmed looked before he put a hand on top of hers and patted it clumsily.

"Don't cry, Hermione - I didn't mean to upse-" Harry began.

"Don't apologize, Harry, it's not your fault. You reacted without thinking, seeing him triggered your memory and you defended yourself in the only way you could think of." Hermione cut in with a choked voice.

Harry didn't say anything, he just looked at her with his lips parted and eyebrows pulled together slightly, wondering how the hell she knew what had happened to him. Hermione sniffled and put a hand to her eye to wipe away a tear, Ron took the opportunity to wrap a comforting arm around her, and Hermione allowed a small smile at the gesture.

"Why was he even here in the first place?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Honestly, I don't know, mate. Me and Hermione came in about a minute before you did, and could only hear Sirius yelling at him." Ron answered, creases forming on his forehead as he thought about it.

Mr. Weasley came over then, four Butterbeer bottles clutched in his hand as he sat down opposite Harry and passed out a bottle to each of them. Harry uncorked his and took a swig, looking for anything to do as the silence settled in again.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley started, his mouth open as he thought over his next words, "I need you to listen to me carefully, eventually you'll have to understand. Snape is on our side - don't interrupt me please - I know you don't think he is, because of what you saw at the Riddle house. But he never did anything there to hurt you. He tried slipping you potions to relieve some of your pain a few times, but every time he tried a Death Eater was always present, and he couldn't risk blowing his cover. He kept us all updated on how you were, and what condition you were in. When V-Voldemort and his Death Eaters put you under, under that curse, Snape didn't raise his wand - couldn't bare the thought of causing you so much pain, he looked ready to faint when he told us what happened. He helped you as much as he could there, did you ever question the Pain Relieve Potion that was left on your food tray after that night? Snape finally managed to slip you something, right when you needed it the most."

Harry stared at Mr. Weasley, digesting everything that was just told to him. Most of it clicked, like the potion on his food tray, he couldn't think that any other Death Eater would pity him enough to put him out of some of his misery. Harry knew that neither Sirius nor anyone else in the Order would even allow Snape in if they didn't trust him. But still, he had his doubts.

"What about the day I was taken? One minute Snape was there, and the next Voldemort was strutting towards me." Harry asked.

"Dumbledore told us that the wards around the house don't allow anyone in with dark magic surrounding them, except for one person - Snape. V-Voldemort somehow figured this out and used it to his advantage, and managed to possess Snape to enter Headquarters. You know the rest." Mr. Weasley told him.

Harry nodded vaguely, his mind pondering over everything. Snape wasn't a true Death Eater, he was on their side... He couldn't wrap his head around the idea, it sounded wrong and unbelievable. Mr. Weasley, Hermione and Ron left him to his thoughts, trying a few times to start up a conversation amongst themselves to fill the silence but it never lasted for long.

Finally, after what seemed to be half an hour, Sirius, Remus and Mrs. Weasley walked in, looking tired but wary. Sirius looked over at Harry, who stared right back at him with emotionless green eyes, then over at Remus, lost for words. Remus was about to open his mouth when Harry spoke.

"You don't need to explain, Mr. Weasley filled me in on everything." He said quietly.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked, coming over and putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I'm fine, honestly. I'm just tired, I need to sleep." Harry replied.

Sirius bit his lip and was silent for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he should trust Harry's words, but ended up nodding his head.

"Remus, will you take Harry upstairs? I need you to explain what'll be the plan for tomorrow, I have to speak with Arthur and Molly about something."

Harry was about to protest, he knew Sirius was making up some excuse to have a babysitter make sure he could get into his bed without falling or hurting himself, but kept his mouth shut at the look Remus shot him.

"Ron, Hermione, it's time for you both to go to bed as well. Fred, George and Ginny are all in their rooms, so make sure to keep your voices down. Goodnight." Mrs. Weasley said, and smiled at them all.

Harry gave her and Mr. Weasley a smile in return then looked over and gave Sirius a sad look. In truth, he was going to miss Sirius terribly. This whole summer he had devoted himself to Harry, did anything Harry needed of him, even saved his life. Part of him wished he had taken Sirius' offer of staying at Grimmauld Place for a while, until he was completely healed. But Harry knew that would be selfish, Ron and Hermione needed him and he would eventually have to face everyone in the school who all now knew the truth of what had happened to him.

Remus walked over to Harry and put a gentle hand on his back, he started to steer him towards the stairs, slowly walking up with him, Ron and Hermione in front of them. When they reached the landing to their floor, Harry said goodnight to his two best friends and went to his room with Remus following. Harry sat on the bed as Remus shut the door behind him, giving a small sigh as he joined Harry on the bed.

"I know you must be irritated that everyone has been following you around lately, I can see it in your face." Remus said gently.

Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, hesitating, as he thought of what to say.

"It's just - I get why everyone is, I really do, but it is annoying me. Sirius won't leave me alone half the time, and I know he wants to spend time with me - and I want to spend time with him too - I just feel like he's babying me too much." Harry explained quietly.

"Yes, I can see how that would annoy someone but I want you to understand something, Harry. Sirius spent thirteen years in Azkaban, and the only happy thought he had in there was you. Now that he's out and has the chance to see you, he wants to get to know you more, he wants to make up for the time that was taken away from both of you, and he wants to take care of you as well and as much as he can." Remus told him as he wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"I'm just not used to adults wanting me around, or taking care of me." Harry whispered.

Remus' grip on Harry tightened, and he felt the older man stiffen next to him. Harry knew that Remus hated the Dursley's because of everything that they had done to him, all the lies they told, and how they affected Harry in general.

"I think the Dursley's hardly count as real people Harry," Harry chuckled at this, "But we do want you around, we always will. You've been in our lives since the day you were born, and we never want you to leave."

Harry smiled, joy and happiness swelling inside him. Sometimes he didn't know if people actually did like him, or if it all was an illusion his mind made up. It was wonderful to know that what he thought was actually true, that Sirius, Remus and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley truly did care about him. Remus smiled down at him and squeezed his shoulder, using the other hand to ruffle Harry's hair.

"Now, before I go, I want to let you know something. Sirius will come with you to King's Cross tomorrow, Tonks is really good at concealment charms and will disguise Sirius. Just make sure not call him by his first name, anyone could be listening." Remus added.

Harry's eyes lit up, and he beamed at Remus. Sirius could actually be there to see him off on the Hogwart's Express, just like his parents would have done if they were still alive.

"Thank you, Remus. For everything you've done for me." Harry said, and wrapped his arms around him.

Remus sat in shock for a moment, not expecting Harry to hug him, but after a moment wrapped his arms around Harry, and held him tightly. When they both finally pulled away Harry yawned loudly, and Remus gave a small chuckle.

"Alright pup, time for bed. Sirius will be up here after he's done talking with Molly and Arthur, but I think you'll be asleep by then."

Harry smiled tiredly, and laid his head against the pillow behind him. As Remus was walking towards the door Harry could already feel himself falling asleep, and accepted it gratefully.

"Night Moony." Harry whispered.

"Night kiddo." Harry heard Remus reply, faintly.

* * *

A/N: I gave you all a long chapter since I neglected to update for a couple of days. The next chapter should hopefully be put up tomorrow, but who knows with me!


	16. Chapter 16: New Faces

Even though Harry was quick to fall asleep that night, it didn't mean he had a restful night. His parents were in and out of his dreams, he also found himself wondering down a corridor with a locked door, a sight of flashing green light and the sound of a dead body falling to the ground, followed by a high-pitched laughed that woke Harry up right away. The only think he was thankful for was that he didn't shout out and wake Sirius up, or the rest of the house for that matter. So when the time came to wake up in the morning, Harry ignored the hand that shook his shoulder and turned away from the person standing over him. In a half-sleep state Harry faintly felt something soft and light land on his bed, and heard someone pacing around the room.

"... Merin Harry, wake up! We gotta hurry up, Mum's acting even crazier then usual, she's muttering about how we're gonna miss the bloody train."

Harry opened his eyes at the sound of Ron's voice, and groped the nightstand next to him for his glasses, and pulled them onto his face. As the room came into focus, Harry could see that Ron was gathering the rest of Harry's items that he didn't bother putting away last night, and that he threw an outfit for Harry to wear on the bed. Harry thought that it was strangely kind of Ron to do, but then again he and Hermione had been doing a lot more for him lately. Shaking his hair out of his face and yawning, Harry heaved himself out of the warm bed and quickly changed into his day clothes before following Ron downstairs. As they both walked downstairs, Ron started chatting about Quiditch, and Harry was glad to find that Ron didn't act different around him after what happened.

A wave of noise hit Harry the moment he and Ron started down the stairs. As they reached the bottom they saw Ginny laying on the ground by the foot of the stairs, massaging her head as the twins helped her up, apologizing profusely as they moved their Hogwarts trunks away from her on the ground. Instantly Harry felt panic flare inside him as he watched Ginny, feeling scared that she had hurt herself, but took a small sigh of relief as she shook her brothers off and smiled at them. After a shouting match between Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Black, Hermione hurtled down the stairs, looking panicked as her eyes darted around the room, looking for the source of noise.

"Fred and George used magic again." Ron explained to her tiredly as he and Harry quickly pulled their shoes on.

"And nearly would of gotten away with it if Ginny hadn't appeared out of nowhere." Fred said behind them, carrying his Hogwarts trunk.

"When are we leaving? Mum was having kittens earlier about being on time." Ron said irritably.

"It's not her, It's Moody. Some bloke named Sturgis Podcore - no wait, that doesn't sound right, Podmore, I think? Anyway, he didn't show up for guard duty this morning." George answered, walking in with Ginny next to him.

"Why didn't he- wait, did you say guard? Why do we need a guard? Harry exclaimed.

"Not us, you. It's your guard." Hermione replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? You're joking, right? That do they expect? Voldemort to be saving me a seat next to him on the Hogwarts Express?" Harry scroffed sarcastically.

Ron, Ginny, Fred and George laughed under their breath, but Hermione pursed her lips.

"What Mad-Eye said goes." Hermione told him.

Before Harry could respond, there was a yell from the kitchen, and all heads turn in the direction of the noise. They all looked at each other in confusion, until the swinging door open and a man walked out, his hands in his hair and his face contorted in disgust. The man had long blonde hair that went to his chin, along with a goatee and beard, grey eyes, and Harry thought he had never seen the man in the Order before.

"Sirius!" A familiar voice shouted from the other room, sounding irritated.

It took a moment for Harry understand what was going on, and joined in on the laughter that erupted in the room. Sirius didn't bother telling them off, but eyed them all carefully before he grabbed Ron and pulled him in front of him, and cowered behind him.

"Hide me! She's trying to make me look like one of her Weird Sisters loverboys!" Sirius said desperately.

While everyone else laughed, Fred and George shared a mischievous look as big smiles grew on their face. It was the perfect time for revenge in their minds, after all the pranks Sirius decided to pull on them this summer. The door swung open again and Tonks walked out, her wand pointed in front of her as her eyes searched the room.

"Sirius Orion Black! Stop playing childish games and let me finish the concealment charms!" She yelled angrily.

Harry glanced over and saw Sirius flinch slightly, but he still refused to move away from Ron, who was trying his best to keep a straight face. Harry had to admit, Sirius did pick a good person to hide behind, Ron was just about as tall as Sirius, and with the way the trunks were piled in front of them their legs were hidden. _Still a Marauder at heart_, Harry thought with a smile.

Fred and George shared another look before they both started forward at the same time, and hurried over towards Sirius with sinister smirks. Silently they snuck up behind him and grabbed him under his arms, and hauled him up as Sirius gave a yelp of surprise.

"C'mon Sirius, be a good boy and finish getting concealed." Fred cooed sarcastically.

Tonks smiled as she watched the twins drag Sirius over to her, twirling her wand with her fingers.

"Traitors." Sirius hissed mockingly at them.

"Consider this, as the Muggles call it, payback." George whispered back.

Fred and George stopped and let go of Sirius in front of Tonks, and hurried back over to the group watching the scene that was about to unfold in front of them. Sirius was smiling guiltily at Tonks, who was tapping her wand against the palm of her hand.

"Why the dramatic scene, Sirius? It's not like I'm keeping you like this forever for Merlin's sake, just to see the kids off." She exclaimed.

Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed, but allowed her to finish her job. After she was done Harry could see only a small difference, but it hid Sirius completely. He was shorter than he originally was, which a much more pointed chin and bigger eyes, and Harry found it difficult to tell himself that this man was the Sirius he loved, not some random stranger. After about five minutes of hearing the twins and Ron moan about leaving for the train, Mrs. Weasley and Remus hurried in and shrunk everything for them, except their animals, and they started out the door and rushed over to the sidewalk.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the train station by foot, they all kept trying to speed walk, but Mrs. Weasley or Tonks would end up yelling at them to stop, to try not to draw attentions to themselves. Sirius walked side by side with Harry, his hand hovering under Harry's elbow as he tried to talk casually with Ron and Hermione, but Harry could tell by the way he was walking that he was tense. When they reached the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, Harry felt Sirius grip his elbow and Tonks grip the other, their eyes wildly searching through the crowd in the train station. Harry felt a flare of irritation rise in him, and he shook off Sirius and Tonks as they started to steer him towards the wall.

"I can walk by myself." He said through clenched teeth, trying to calm down his sudden anger.

Sirius and Tonks shared a look over Harry's head, but let him go and decided to walk beside him as they rushed towards the barrier, and Harry swore he saw them both tense even more as they entered platform 9 3/4. As soon as Harry saw the train he felt his anger slip away, he watched students and parents give goodbyes before they parted, and felt his heart beat pick up in excitement. He was going back after all.  
After a few minutes of waiting everyone was on the platform, in a tightly knit group as they waited for Mad-Eye, who was here waiting for them before, to come back from unloaded their cart of luggage.

"Everything-" Sirius started.

"-Okay? Yeah, I don't reckon we were followed." Mad-Eye cut in.

"I'll inform Albus later about Podmore." Remus said quietly to Mad-Eye.

Moody nodded, "Good man."

Mrs. Weasley and Tonks hugged them all, while Remus and Moody shook everyone's hand, and it seemed as though Harry was getting advice from almost everyone to be careful and to keep his eyes peeled for anything. As Sirius came over to Harry, the warning whistle went off, and every student that remained on the platform rushed over to the train. Harry looked up at Sirius with sad eyes before he was engulfed in a tight hug, Sirius resting his head on Harry's as he held him.

"Be careful what you write, address me as Snuffles in your letter's - Hedwig will know who it is. Owl me if you need anything, and be sure to go to Madam Pomfrey when your potions run out or if you feel any pain." Sirius ranted.

Sirius then lightly pushed Harry towards the train with an encouraging smile that looked somewhat forced, and Harry hurried over to the open train door.

"Bye Siri - Snuffles!" He slipped.

Harry rushed onto the train and hurried towards an open window as the train started to leave, seeing Remus, Tonks, Moody, Mrs. Weasley and Sirius waving at him and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny as they all stood by Harry. Fred and George left as soon as the adults were out of sight, hurrying down the corridor to their friends, while Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny started down the other side of the train.

"Which compartment do you want?" Harry asked as he glanced over his shoulder at Ron and Hermione, who he saw exchanged awkward looks.

It turned out prefects had to sit with each other, much to Harry's disappointment as he walked down the halls in the train with Ginny by his side, but he couldn't say that he was all disappointed as he glanced over at Ginny with a smile. Harry saw his face printed on some Daily Prophets as they walked past, and tried to ignore and stares and whispers that followed him. Harry and Ginny ended up sitting in a compartment with Neville, who was staring at a girl with long dirty blonde hair in the seat across from him, who Harry vaguely recognized.

"Hey, Harry, Ginny. I haven't seen you all summer." Neville said with a nervous smile.

Harry smiled back and sat next to him, while Ginny sat down next to the blonde and started chatting happily with her, much to the confusion of Harry. When Ginny saw him staring over at them, she gave a smile and introduced the blond.

"This is Luna Lovegood, she's in my grade, but in Ravenclaw."

Harry found that Luna was very strange, but not in a bad way. She gave off the impression that she didn't care about what others thought of her, and she always seemed happy no matter what. Neville showed them a plant that he got for his birthday and was about to poke it to see what it would do, but Ginny saw at the last second and stopped Neville before he could poke it. Harry found himself relieved, he wasn't sure it would of been good if Neville had poked the plant, it looked weird and threatening in a way to Harry. About twenty minutes later there was a knock on their compartment door, and Harry looked up to see Cho Chang.

If he could of Harry would of groaned, but he gave her a forced smile as she opened the compartment door. Harry wasn't exactly sure how Cho felt about him, he was worried that he led her on last year, even though he had liked her then, and if he did he knew things were about to get awkward.

"Hi, Harry." Cho started nervously, her eyes scanning the compartment.

"Hey Cho." Harry said kindly back, and offered a small smile.

"Can I talk to you for a moment alone?" She asked after a moment, the words slipping out of her mouth.  
Harry could of swore he saw Ginny tense at Cho's words, but tried his best to ignore it as he started to stand up.

"Sure." He said, not sounding it at all.

Harry placed his palm against the wall and heaved himself out of his seat and walked out of the compartment with Cho next to him, and she led him a little more down the hall where more empty compartments were, and stopped at a random one and opened the door, and together they walked inside. Cho sat opposite of him and twirled her hair around her finger nervously, and looked as though she was thinking over what she should say.

"What do you need to talk about?" Harry asked, filling the awkward silence.

"I-I heard about what happened to you this summer." She blurted out, and flushed slightly.

Harry froze in his seat, shocked by her bluntness's. He looked up and saw her face was now bright red, but she stood her ground as she stared back at him.

"I think everyone knows what happened, the Prophet didn't exactly hold back." Harry said after a moment of silence.

"Are you okay?" Cho asked with a tremble in her voice.

"Yeah," Harry said without thinking, "I got all patched up, I'm better now."

Cho's eyes roamed over Harry for a moment, as if searching for any physical sign of injury, and Harry tried his best not to blush as she examined him.

"It's awful, what happened to you, after everything that just happened in June."

It all clicked inside Harry's head at her words, why she wanted to speak to him. _Cedric._ Of course she would want answers from him, what happened and why Cedric was killed, but did she honestly believe he was in the right condition to tell her? After everything that happened to him this summer, everything he had been through, she thought he would want to answer her questions?

"Um, yeah, it was." He replied awkwardly.

Harry wanted to leave, to hurry down the hall and join Ginny, Neville and Luna back in their compartment, to avoid telling Cho that he couldn't give her the answers that she wanted, that it was too soon and he selfishly wanted to avoid those memories.

"Having to face him again after watching him come back to life, after killing C-Cedric." Cho said almost as soon as Harry shut his mouth, looking shyfully up at him.

"Cho..." Harry started slowly.

Cho looked down at the ground for a moment as she shuffled her feet together, and when she looked up at Harry against he was surprised at the tears forming in her eyes. He opened his mouth but hesitated, he had no clue how to comfort her.

"Please Harry, I need to know what happened to him, I need that closure." Cho begged him with a tremble in her voice.

"Cho, the only people that know about that are Dumbledore And Mr. and Mrs. Diggory, and they only know because Dumbledore forced me to tell him and his parents needed an answer. Everyone's been asking me what happened to him, and know their going to want to know more now. But I-I just can't, okay? It's too hard for me right now."

"But you told his parents." She whispered as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Because they just lost their child to Voldemort, something that could of easily happened to me." Harry just about snapped back.

She stared at him in slight shock, her mouth open with her bottom lip trembling as she thought over what she should say.

"I have to go, Ron and Hermione will be back soon and they need me to help them with their Prefect duties." Harry lied as he stood up, and reached for the compartment door.

"Harry-" She started, but he had already shut the door behind him as he hurried down the hall.

* * *

A/N: Ugh. I feel terrible. I haven't had wifi for most of the week and was helping my family move, it was torture. The moving boxes I could handle, but the no wifi almost killed me. Anyway, here's the next chapter and hopefully the next one will be up tomorrow. If I don't get the chance to say it tomorrow, Happy Memorial Day!


	17. Chapter 17: Flashes

"You just left her like that? Crying in a compartment?" Ron asked in amazement.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were walking up the path to the carriages, and since Neville and Luna were so caught up in a conversation that Harry, Ron and Hermione had fallen behind a little so Harry could tell them what had happened earlier.

"I wasn't going to just stand there and let her pressure me into telling her." Harry replied calmly.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it a moment later and shut it again, which Harry thought was very smart of him. Hermione just kept her lips pursed and said nothing, walking alongside them with her eyes pointed straight ahead. Ron, who had just noticed the silence that surrounded them, looked at her.

"Well? You've been awfully quiet, what do you think?" Ron asked her.

She bit her bottom lip and glanced over at Harry quickly, and when he looked back she avoided his gaze and looked over at Ron for another moment before she answered him.

"Well, it might of not been the best move, Harry." She said hesitantly.

Harry looked at her with disbelief, and opened his mouth to retort, but she quickly cut him off.

"I know that's not what you want to hear right now, Harry, but speaking as I girl I know how she must feel. I mean I know where you're coming from too, but I understand what she's probably thinking right now." Hermione said rather quickly to defend herself.

Harry closed his mouth and gritted his teeth together, but gave a small nod of his head. Ron and Hermione watched him subtly as he thought over it, and after a moment Harry could see where Hermione was coming from.

"I guess your right." He mumbled, giving Hermione a guilty smile.

Hermione gave a bright smile in return, hitching her bag over her shoulder more securely as they continued down the uneven path towards the school carriages.

"Of course I'm right Harry, when have I never been?" She said teasingly, her brown eyes sparkling as Ron and Harry gave snorts of laughter. "Besides, I thought you liked Cho, what happened?" Hermione asked with a sly grin.

Harry choke on his own spit and looked at her, coughing as his cheeks started to turn red. She kept her grin on her face, watching him in amusement.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked, patting him on the back.

Hermione watched as Harry's eyes nervously glanced at Ron and then to Ginny's back, and had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing as Harry spluttered to answer.

"F-fine, and no Hermione, I don't like her anymore. She gets to emotion sometimes, is that normal for a girl Hermione? You don't get moody a lot, well, only when Ron's around." Harry responded.

It was Hermione's turn to blush.

"I do not!" Hermione snapped, glaring daggers at Harry, who laughed.

"Whatever you say Hermione." Harry shot back.

Ron looked at both of them, before shaking his head and started to walk a little faster to catch up with the rest of the group.

"You both are bloody crazy!" Ron said playfully over his shoulder.

Harry and Hermione chuckled, and Harry watched as Hermione's eyes followed Ron. With a smirk he hurried to catch up too, stopping for a moment to whisper in Hermione's ear.

"I guess we both have a thing for red heads."

* * *

"How could you not see them? They were standing right in front of the bloody carriage!" Harry exclaimed as he, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the Great Hall.

"Harry, nothing was pulling the carriage, it was pulling itself like it always does." Hermione said, her eyebrows pulled together.

Harry looked at her incredulously, his mind spinning. The horses were huge and had wings, how in the hell had she or Ron not seen it? _The horses were right in front of them for crying out loud_! But he decided not to push it as they entered the Great Hall, not wanting anyone to hear him and think he was mental, it would just give people more of a reason to talk about him. As they started to make their way to the Gryffindor table Harry noticed the level of noise in the hall was down, and felt the back of his neck prickle as he felt people watching him. Harry averted his eyes and looked straight at the Gryffindor table, ignoring the attention that was being given to him.

He felt the corner of his mouth pick up as Ron and Hermione started talking a bit louder, noticing his discomfort, trying to get the attention off of him. He glanced up at them for a moment with a thankful smile before he went back to staring at his own feet, which were more interesting than the students watching him. Thankfully by the time all three sat down the volume in the Hall went up again, and Harry felt the tension leave his body for the first time since he walked onto the train that day.

Looking up at the staff table he watched the teachers talk amongst each other, and let his eyes scan over each one, looking for anything out of place. Right away he noticed Hagrid was missing, and felt shock run through him for a moment, and noticed a new face at the table besides Tonks, but couldn't think of who it was. The next thing he noticed was that McGonagall was missing, but Harry knew that she was collecting the first years to be sorted. With a jolt he realized this would be the first sorting he'd seen since his own.

"Harry!" A voice next to him said in a loud whisper.

Harry jumped a little and whipped his head to the side, and looked at Ginny with startled green eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a small voice.

"Yeah, you just startled me out of my thoughts." He replied with a forced smile.

"The sorting's about to begin."

He nodded and raised his eyes up, following the little first years who waited nervously to be sorted. As McGonagall called them up to the sorting hat, Harry watched the first years scurry to the stool, a small smile upon his face. Then out of nowhere his scar seared with a burning pain at the same time an image flashed inside his head of him on the ground at the Riddle House, soaked in blood and leaning on the ground, obviously holding back screams of pain. Harry kept his eyes closed as a shiver ran through his body, and took a deep breath. _It's over, it's all over_. He chanted inside his head, but he found himself panicking, not really knowing why. Harry looked up quickly to see if anyone was watching him, whether student or teacher, and was relieved to find no eyes on him at the moment, and averted his eyes down to the ground.

Why was he suddenly having flash backs of what happened at the Riddle House? Normally he could control where his thoughts went, so why couldn't he right now? He felt unease rise inside him like bile, something wasn't right. Maybe Sirius was right, I'm not ready to be here, not right now. As soon as the thought entered his mind Harry tried to shake it off, he was meant to be here, Hogwarts was his home. He was safe. Looking up at the staff table Harry could see Dumbledore giving him beginning of the year speech, but easily blocked what he was saying as he calmed himself down.

He knew there was something wrong, but he refused to believe that it was because he was at Hogwarts like he knew Sirius would. But Sirius wouldn't know this happened, Harry already knew what he would say and didn't like it at all. He was staying, staying with his friends and at the castle he called home, and wouldn't let anyone take it away from him. Shaking himself slightly to get rid of the all the thoughts inside his head, Harry looked back up and tried to listen to what Dumbledore was saying.

* * *

_Harry wandered down the corridor, his eyes frantically searching for any door that he could find, and turning down the next corridor a trickle of excitement went through him as he saw a door down the hall. His feet started to hurry down the hall without him aware, but he found himself not caring. He started to sweat as his heart picked up, he was finally close to what he was searching for- _

_Suddenly a figure emerged out of the shadows, making Harry jump back as if he had been shocked. Straining his eyes, he tried to make out who the figure was, but it was too dark. Fear replaced excitement as the figure approached him, a sense of dread filling him, and as the shadowy figure stepped into the light, Harry clenched his teeth together to hold back his scream. His red eyes glowed in the eerie darkness in the corridor, the too familiar sinister smile forming his lips, his cloak making it seem as though he was floating with each step he took as Harry stepped back. Voldemort continued to walk until he had Harry cornered by the door, looking like a scared child as he crouched as far as he could, trying to use the shadows to shield him. _

_"There's no use in hiding from me, Harry, I'll always find you." Voldemort sneered, his voice echoing down the hall. _

_Harry flinched away, anger and fear mixing in his body. He wanted to do something, anything - but his body ignored his protesting mind. His eyes widened as he saw Voldemort pull out his wand, pointing it straight at Harry, who squeezed his eyes shut while his mind screamed for help. Voldemorts laughter filled his ears as he heard a curse fired, and just barely made out the green light behind his eyelids-_

With a jolt Harry opened his eyes, sitting up quickly so his eyes could search the room, but found his vision blurry. His shaky hands searched wildly for his glasses, and he jammed them onto his face as he pulled a curtain out of way to see the room. With a sigh of relief the Gryffindor dormitory came into focus, and as he became aware of his surroundings Harry could hear the breathing and snoring of the other fifth years in the room. Taking in a deep breath, Harry pushed his hand through his sweaty hair, leaning his body back until his back hit the mattress, trying to make his body relax.

_It was just a damn dream_, Harry thought to himself, pulling the covers he kicked off the bed over his body. But as images flashed inside his head of Voldemort, and the cold humorless laugh filled his eyes, he couldn't help but think it wasn't. This is starting to get out of hand, Harry thought as he felt his body tremble from his dream. Was he becoming paranoid? Was his mind conscious or not going to keep reminding him of the danger that was awaiting him in the future?

Sirius. He might know why this is happening, maybe this was how it was like for him when he was in Azkaban, and maybe even after. But as Harry pulled back his covers to get out of the bed, realization hit him. It had only been one day and he was going to go crying to Sirius. Was he really that weak? Could Voldemort of made him soft? If there was one thing Harry hated more than Voldemort, it was showing weakness. To him that was telling someone the perfect way to destroy you, and he refused to do that.

With a sigh he pulled the covers back over him, welcoming the warmth it brought to his body, and as a tired calmness creped over him he felt his heart calm and his trembling stop, and shut his tired eyelids. Don't worry about it now, it's not big deal. Harry thought vaguely as he drifted off to sleep. Only time would show Harry how wrong he was.

* * *

The next two weeks past in a blur for Harry: classes, homework and catching up with friends left him no time to wonder about the events of his first day back or the confusing dreams of the corridor he had at night. But Harry was glad, he didn't like thinking about it, so he gladly accepted the distractions. His remaining injuries were hardly a bother anymore with the help of Madam Pomfrey, and they didn't hurt him as much as they used to. The only problem that he had to face daily was Snape, who took them and the Slytherins for potions. Harry was still angry - no infuriated - with the overgrown bat, and was glad that Snape had gotten the message loud and clear. He ignored Harry whenever possible and no longer humiliated him in front of the class, something that did not go unnoticed by the very disappointed Slytherins.

This is how it should be, Harry thought in annoyance as he sat in the Great Hall, pushing his breakfast around on his plate and ignoring the glares he was receiving from Ginny and Hermione. Harry glanced up at them and gave a smile, popping a piece of bacon into his mouth for their benefit. It seemed Mrs. Weasley had them watching Harry like a hawk to make sure he was eating, which amused him as such as it annoyed him. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and returned her attention back to the Daily Prophet in her hand, her eyes scanning over the articles.

Ron chose that moment to join them, plopping down next to Harry and making himself a large plate of breakfast. He made small talk with Harry as they ate. Then, to entertain Harry, Ron searched through the Great Hall for anyone embarrassing themselves and pointed it out to Harry the moment he saw it, his own little revenge for all the attention they paid Harry recently.

"What are you staring at, Gin?" Ron suddenly asked.

Harry turned his head around in time to see Ginny's eyes glance away from him, a pink blush making itself noticeable on her cheeks. Harry himself tried not to blush as he looked at her, fighting a smile, as she stumbled for an answer.

"I-I thought I saw something on Harry's face." Ginny muttered, looking apologetically at Harry.

At that moment Harry saw Hermione's head perk up and look over at them, as her eyes met his own, Hermione gave Harry a knowing look he was getting quite used to, he shook his head in response.

"He does, and don't pity him for it, he was born with that face." Ron said while he rolled his eyes playfully.  
"OI!" Harry exclaimed in mock-offence as the others laughed.

Harry shoved his elbow into Ron's chest, a lazy smirk on his face as he heard Ron gasp.

"You wish you had my stunningly good looks, not everyone is as blessed as I am." Harry said, brushing his hand through his messy hair.

"More like cursed." Ron muttered to Ginny, who bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"Why're you Weasleys picking on me today? I can understand Ron since he's a git, but you offend me Gin." Harry said with a hand over his heart.

"You know what Harry? I think you're right, I never side with Ron. I'm joining Team Potter." Ginny said with a smirk, throwing her last piece of toast at Ron.

Harry and Ginny laughed at Ron who was removing the sticky bread from his face and turning red as he tried to wipe the butter and jam off his cheek. Hermione scooted closer to Ginny and grabbed a piece of bacon from the girl's plate and aimed it at Harry who jumped as it hit his face.

"Look at what you did, Potter, turning blood against blood! You ought to be ashamed of yourself." Hermione tried to speak sternly but she couldn't hide her smile.

"I can't help myself, M'ione, Ginny's such a fantastic person to side with, have you seen her Bat-Bogey Hex?" Harry replied playfully.

"But I'm your brother!" Ron said to Ginny, throwing his hands in the air.

"I've got better brothers than you Ronnie." Ginny replied as she took a sip of pumpkin juice.

Harry snickered a little too loudly and was hit full in the face with Hermione's Daily Prophet, courtesy of Ron. They all burst into laughter, enjoying their playful banter. After a minute, Hermione wiped away a tear that had escaped the corner of her eye and checked her watch, with a small gasp she jumped out of her seat.

"We've got to go guys, Charms starts in fifteen minutes and the halls are bound to be full, we'd better hurry." Hermione said as she grabbed her bag.

Harry and Ron hurried out of their seats too and grabbed their own bags. Ginny smiled at them, as they hurried off, finishing her breakfast.

"Have fun!" Ginny yelled at them as they left the Great Hall, rolling her eyes at the rude hand gesture Ron gave her in response.

* * *

"Bloody hell! How does the teacher expect us to get all this done!" Ron exclaimed as he hitched his bag over his shoulder more securely.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were making their way back to the Gryffindor Tower after Charms, more out of breath than usual, with all the books they were carrying.

"Don't exaggerate, with the help of a study schedule you should be able to get all of your work done in time." Hermione told him with a sigh.

"Bloody hell, not this again." Ron leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear, who had to turn his head to keep Hermione from seeing him laugh.

Ron chose not to answer Hermione but rather he just gave a small shake of his head. She didn't notice. They kept walking until they reached the Fat Lady.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia." Harry spoke the password before he was asked and together they entered the Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Ron walked over to a small desk near the boys dormitories while Hermione headed to her dorm.

They set their bags down, throwing themselves into chairs, and started sorting through their homework, searching for something easy to do first.

"Did you have any clue what Flitwick was saying earlier?" Ron asked, holding their Charms homework in his hands.

"I wasn't paying attention either you dunderhead, we were playing hangman on the corner of my paper."

"Oh yeah." Ron chuckled.

"We're just reviewing Summoning Charms right now, the homework shouldn't be too hard - let me see it... 'Explain the history of Summoning Charms'... We'll ask Hermione about that later..."

Ron nodded his head and threw the homework into a small pile next to him then began to dig through his bag for something else.

"What about the Dream Journals? Did you write in it for last night?" Harry asked, searching his bag for the journal.

"No, not yet, since I don't remember what I was dreaming 'bout last night but it'll take me ten seconds to make something up." Ron muttered as he opened the journal to the right page and grabbed his quill.

"I still can't believe Trelawney's making us do this." Harry said as he started writing.

"The woman's completely nuts." Ron replied as he dipped his quill in ink.

They sat in silence as they finished writing in the Dream Journals, concentrating so they wouldn't forget the details they had made up in their head for their 'dreams'. When Ron finished he put the journal away and took out his Prefect schedule, forgetting what day he and Hermione had to patrol the hallways.

"FRED! GEORGE!" A loud voice screeched.

Harry jumped and looked up, searching for the source of noise, when he finally found it he shared a glance with Ron, knowing what was coming next. Hermione had her hands on her hips as Fred and George walked up to her, mischievous grins on their faces as they stared at her, not at all intimidated.

"Yes?" George questioned, arching one of his eyebrows.

"Didn't I tell you to get rid of these?" Hermione questioned angrily, shoving a piece of paper in his face.

"It's amazing isn't it, Fred? How much our dear Hermione sounds like mum."

"Absolutely incredible." Fred replied.

Harry chuckled as he looked over at Ron who had a smirk on his face as he watched Hermione yell at someone else for once. Harry turned his attention back to the papers in front of him, trying to ignore Hermione arguing with the twins as he searched for the rest of the homework he had to get done.

"Harry?" A familiar voice said to his right, he turned to look up at her as he put his quill down.

"Yeah, Gin?" He asked.

"Hedwig came after you left the Hall and gave me your mail since she couldn't find you." She said as she held out an envelope to him.

'Thanks Ginny." Harry replied with a smile as he took the envelope from her and started t open it, but stopped as he saw who sent it to him. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." Harry muttered.

He got off his chair quickly and hurried up Gryffindor tower until he reached his room - thankfully empty - and sat down on his bed as he finished opening the letter.

_Harry,_  
_I'm sorry I haven't been writing, things with the Order are a little crazy at the moment. How is school going? Tonks said that you've been doing excellently in your classes recently, even with all the OWL work. And before you ask, yes, it does get worse. How have you been feeling? Any dizzy spills? Are your nightmares getting better? Any scar pain? I know I must sound annoying, but I need to know. Please reply as soon as possible, but don't put too much, just in case the letter falls into the wrong hands._  
_Love Snuffles_

Harry stared at the parchment for a moment, his emotions conflicted. Should he tell Sirius about the dreams he had been having? The searing pain on his scar that gave him a vision? Part of his mind was screaming yes, while the other part was telling him no. Harry was torn: whether to tell Sirius what had happened and look weak or say no and deal with it by himself. He reached into the drawer in the bedside table and grabbed a piece of spare parchment along with a quill and ink. As he wrote, he left out what had happened on the first day.

"Harry!" Hermione called for him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hold on a moment!" Harry called back.

Harry quickly signed his name on the bottom of the letter and sealed it in an envelope. As he went to place it in the drawer, he saw a flash of white by the window.

"Hedwig." Harry breathed as he hurried towards the window.

Harry undid the latch that kept the window shut and opened it wide, letting Hedwig fly in, she then landed on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze with her claws.

"Hey there girl." Harry said as he stroked her feathers, and in return she nipped his ear affectionately.

"I need you to send this to Sirius, I know the letter says something else; but it's for Sirius." Harry told her.

Hedwig nipped his ear again and Harry took it that she understood, when she held her leg out to him Harry tied the letter there and stroked her feathers once again before she flew back out the window. Harry watched her soar, away into the distance, with the letter for Sirius secured tightly to her leg.


	18. Chapter 18: Closer

Harry's body jolted, a small gasp leaving his mouth as he awoke. Keeping his eyes closed, he took deep breaths to slow his heart rate and try to calm himself. _Another dream, just another dream_. He frantically reassured himself, ignoring the prickling feeling in his scar as he sat up on his elbows and wiped the sweat from his brow. After a minute, he felt calmer and had regained control of himself. He lay back down, kicking the covers off his overheated body as he did so. Harry felt confused, he hadn't had a dream about Voldemort for over a month now, what was happening?

Deciding not to let his sluggish brain think too much about it, Harry closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep. After about half an hour of watching the clock turn from two-thirty to three, Harry gave up on the idea. He hoisted himself out of the bed and placed his feet on the freezing floor, quickly slipping his glasses onto his nose before getting off the bed and heading down to the common room. It was empty so he headed towards the couch closest to the fireplace.

As he sat down, Harry felt the tingling sensation in his scar heighten and once again tried to ignore it, not wanting to deal with it at that moment. Instead he lay down on the couch and placed a cold hand over his forehead, sighing as it soothed his heated skin. _I'm probably just sick_, Harry thought hopefully as he switched hands, using the other one to wipe away some of the sweat on his chest. That's when the pain hit him. Harry gave a garbled mixture of a yelp and a gasp, the hand on his forehead shooting over to his scar and pressing against it, his body doubling over as he tried to bear the pain.

Swearing as he tried to catch his breath, Harry rolled onto his side and quickly checked his hand for any blood from his scar. He was relieved when he found none. At that moment, an even more agonizing pain shot through his scar and a strangled cry escaped his mouth. He rushed to put his hand back over his scar but the sharp movement jolted his body and sent him crashing to the floor. At this point Harry didn't care where he was, all he could focus on was the pain that was consuming him, nothing he did could relieve it-

"Hello?" A quiet voice asked from near the girls dormitory.

Harry couldn't pick up his head to see who had come down, at this point couldn't care less who saw him, only wishing to be relieved of the hellish pain he was enduring.

"Harry!" The voice said loudly.

Harry cracked his eyes open and found his vision blurry, out of the corner of his eye he could see his glasses laying near his shoulder, he tried to focus on the figure approaching him.

"Hermione?" He managed to croak out.

Hermione rushed over and kneeled by his side, putting her cold, soft hands on either side of his face, as she came into focus Harry could see how scared and alarmed she was at the sight of him. Her face was pale and her voice shook with panic.

"What happened? What hurts? God damn it! Sirius was right, you weren't ready..!" She muttered frantically, searching him for injuries.

"It's my bloody scar, M'ione." Harry whispered.

Before she could respond, Harry cried out as the pain intensified, radiating through his jerking body, engulfing him in hell. He could feel Hermione trying to restrain his body and could only just hear her muttering under her breath, trying her best to console him.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" A familiar voice said nearby.

"George! Please, help me!" Hermione begged, sounding close to tears.

"What's going on - Harry!" George said, sounding startled.

Suddenly Harry felt another pair of arms touching him and, as he felt his consciousness start to leave him, was glad someone else besides Hermione was there to help him. His relief was short lived as the pain flared up again and, with one last choked gasp, Harry blacked out.

* * *

He could feel hands touching his forehead, neck, checking his pulse, someone smoothing back his hair. Harry breathed in through his nose and swallowed, his mouth forming a grimace as he tasted the potions that must have been forced down his throat and making his stomach churn uncomfortably. Harry shifted on the bed so his back wasn't in a painful position. As he did he felt a not uncomfortable weight on his feet but couldn't figure out what it was. It didn't matter though, Harry felt comfortable and safe where he was, the pain was finally gone.

"Are they still here?" A feminine voice interrupted his momentary bliss from nearby.

"Yes, they just went to the kitchens for a quick lunch." A man's voice replied.

"I understand Albus excused everyone from classes today, I do, but they don't need to stay in here, they can't expect Potter to wake up so quickly." The woman said irritably.

It took Harry a moment before he recognized the voice of Madam Pomfrey, only then did he realize that he was in the Hospital Wing. _What a surprise_, Harry thought sarcastically.

"They're his friends, I would have done the same for mine - I still do." He heard the male voice say, right next to him, and felt his hair smoothed back again.

Silence fell in the room, the only sounds were the other people in the room breathing and the birds chirping outside. Harry didn't like the silence, it made him feel awkward, the center of attention, and right now he knew he was. He almost sighed in relief when he heard the Hospital Wing door open and more than one person enter. The group of people were talking and, after a moment of concentration, he realized it was Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George. Harry couldn't tell what they were talking about but he didn't like the tone of their voices.

"Is he awake yet, Remus?" Hermione asked, and Harry felt the mattress dip as her and someone else - Ginny, he thought - sat on the bed.

Harry heard a sigh next to him. "No, not yet. Poppy can't pinpoint when exactly he'll wake up, but with the potions she's been feeding him it should be soon." Remus responded.

After a moment of silence, Fred started up a conversation about Quidditch in which everyone but Hermione gladly participated. Harry sat there content to just hear his friends voices, in a way, reassuring him that he was okay. He should have known it wouldn't last for long as a sharp bolt of pain went through his scar like lightening. He lifted his hand to his scar instinctively, his face scrunching up in pain.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, placing a soft hand over his.

Harry opened his eyes and relaxed his arm down as the pain faded into nothing. He looked around at the blurry people who surrounded him.

"Here,'" Remus said, handing Harry his glasses, "I fixed the crack on the lens for you."

Harry took his glasses from Remus and placed them on his face. For a moment he was confused by what Remus said then he realized he must have broken them when he fell.

"Thank you." Harry croaked, his throat dry.

Remus forced a smile, looking tired and drained as he shifted on the chair next to Harry's bed. Harry smiled back and looked to his group of friends, all of whom looked at him anxiously, somewhat apprehensive, as if approaching a spooked animal.

"You don't have to worry, I'm fine." Harry told them, trying to reassure them.

"No you aren't, I saw you. If that's your definition of 'fine' then you're even crazier than I thought." George said, his voice stern.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes and settled on grabbing a fistful of his blankets, trying to relief his sudden annoyance.

"It was just Vol-" Harry started, but was cut off.

"It wasn't just that, Harry! You were thrashing around on the floor screaming, and knowing your high tolerance of pain it must have been one hell of a mood swing from You-Know-Who." Ron growled out, glaring at Harry.

Harry opened his mouth but nothing came out, he had nothing to say. He knew Ron was right, he couldn't deny it. Harry huffed in annoyance and laid back against his pillows, looking away from Ron. His eyes widened for a moment when he saw a large, black dog laying at his feet, looking at him with big eyes.

"Padfoot." He whispered, the dog gave a little whine and moved closer to Harry, laying one paw on Harry's leg.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked quickly, her eyes watching him carefully.

"I'm better." Harry replied after a moment.

He hardly noticed the silence that fell again as he looked at Sirius and then a moment later at Remus, confused as to why they were here with him. As he opened his mouth to voice his thoughts another shot of pain when through his scar and, for a moment, he felt excited and happy. It took a minute for the pain to go away and confusion replaced the foreign giddiness in him.

"Something big must have happened." Harry muttered as he rubbed at his scar, which was a little redder than usual.

Harry glanced up in time to see almost everyone shift uncomfortably, looking hesitant to say anything. He noticed Ginny almost spoke but her big brown eyes glanced around the room and she bit down on her lower lip, keeping the words inside her mouth.

"So I'm right, what happened? What did Voldemort do?" Harry asked, worry resonating from his voice.  
He ignored the inadvertent flinches from the Weasleys, his eyes glancing from Remus to his friends, expecting an answer from either of them. Even before any words had escaped their mouths, Harry guessed it was bad, Remus and Sirius were at Hogwarts with him, instead of at Headquarters, and he vaguely remembered Madam Pomfrey saying classes were canceled today.

"Voldemort attacked the Ministry last night, Harry, that's why your scar hurt so much. A few people died in the attack-" Hermione started but she couldn't finish: looking worried and, to Harry's horror, scared.

"Oh Merlin, who?"

"Fudge is dead."

Harry felt his jaw drop in shock, "What?"

"Fudge is dead, Voldemort killed him while his Death Eaters attacked the remaining employees." Remus responded, and Harry caught the tremble in his voice.

Harry saw Ron shudder out of the corner of his eye, and dread flared inside him.

"Mr. Weasley - " Harry gasped out with bulging eyes.

"No, no, no. He's fine. He left work early yesterday because of an Order meeting."

Harry sat on the bed in shock, hardly noticing the stares he was receiving. The Ministry was attacked by Voldemort, Fudge was killed. He couldn't wrap his brain around the idea. Was the Ministry ruined? Where did that leave the Wizarding World? Pandemonium? Fear? Both? Harry let out a shaky breath and opened his mouth, but Remus seemed to know what he was thinking and started talking.

"Dumbledore received word of what was going to happen the moment it before the attack, and arrived in time to make Voldemort leave the Ministry after he murdered Fudge. Right now Dumbledore is temporarily Minister until we can find someone new, and McGonagall will be temporary Headmaster of Hogwarts. After Dumbledore got the situation settled down somewhat he contacted me and Sirius at Grimmauld Place, and told us to come here because he believes Headquarters isn't safe at the moment. " Remus told him with forced calmness in his voice.

It took Harry a moment to take in what Remus just said, his mind sluggish from shock and tiredness. He slumped against the metal headboard behind him, his mouth open slightly as his mind processed everything.

"Would you give Harry and I a moment? Make sure to lock the door behind you, I don't want anyone wandering in." Remus said suddenly, his eyes glancing from Harry to Padfoot.

"Of course." Hermione muttered as the rest nodded in agreement, and together they left the Hospital Wing, the lock clicking behind them.

Almost as soon as the door shut Padfoot jumped off the bed, transforming into Sirius, shocking Harry with how pale and pinched his face looked. Harry knew Sirius was taking the news hard, because the last time he saw Sirius look this stressed was when they met in the Shrieking Shack in his third year. Sirius walked over to Harry and sat on his side, casually putting his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"How are you holding up, pup?" He asked instantly, his eyes roaming over Harry's figure.

"You have ears, you heard me before," Harry said with a roll of his eyes, desperately wanting to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. "I'm fine, the pain comes and goes, but not as bad as last night."

"Good." Sirius sighed, relief evident in his voice.

"We're lucky that we came here when we did," Remus said, switching back to the subject, "Because we have our hands on something of Voldemort's."

Harry instantly perked up, "On what?" He asked incredulously.

Remus reached into his pocket and searched for a minute, then his fingers came out with a chain dangling from them. Harry recognized it immediately - it was the locket he found over the summer.

"What would he want this that piece of shit? OI!" Harry yelled in surprise as Sirius smacked him upside the head.

"Watch your language." He said sternly, pointing his finger at Harry, but he couldn't keep the small smile from tugging at his lips.

"So now you're concerned about me swearing." Harry teased, momentarily forgetting the situation.

"Anyway," Remus interrupted, clearing his throat, "We know what it is, and why Voldemort would want to get his grubby little hands on it."

"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly.

"It's called a Horcrux."

* * *

Harry walked slowly up the staircase as he made his way to Gryffindor Tower, his mind reeling. He couldn't believe how desperate Voldemort was to continue living, to even consider tearing his soul into pieces. It was inhuman. Sick. Harry thought he was going to loose the contents in his stomach when Remus told him what a Horcrux was. Shaking his head as if the action would rid his thoughts, he tried to think of anything else, telling himself that Sirius and Remus had everything under control with the whole Horcrux thing, that they would take care of it.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia." Harry muttered to the Fat Lady as he approached her, and as the door swung opened he quickly entered the common room.

He noticed right away that it was almost empty, he saw Hermione and the Weasley's huddled together on the couch, a couple first years in the corner talking, and a few sixth and seventh years sitting at the chess table. Harry walked over to his friends and flopped down on the couch next to Fred, taking a deep breath.

"Madam Pomfrey actually let you out?" Ron blurted out from the couch in front of Harry, looking at him incredulously.

"I didn't get away so easily," Harry said with a smile as he grabbed a small bottle of out his robe pocket, "I have to take a dose of this for the next week."

He heard a chuckle escape Ron's mouth and felt the corners of his own mouth pick up, flashing a rare grin on his face.

"What happened after we left?" Ginny asked, looking at him curiously.

"Remus mentioned that Voldemort tried to take the Prophesy when he attacked." Harry said truthfully, but with a small shake of his head told them that that wasn't all, but he couldn't say.

"He didn't get it, did he?" George asked, eyes wide.

"No, but he was close. He went down the wrong corridor and ran into Dumbledore." Harry replied with relish.

He saw almost everyone smile at the thought, and he himself couldn't fight the smile on his face. He looked over at Hermione and noticed she was distant, she was the one usually asking him questions before anyone else could open their mouths.

"M'ione? You okay?" He asked her gently, glancing over at Ron to see if he knew, but was answered with a shrug and a frown.

"It's just a lot to take in," She started with a sigh, "Everything's happened so fast. He's getter closer and stronger, and I don't like it, it scares me."

"It scares us all, M'ione, " Ron - surprising - spoke up after a minute of silence, "No one likes the idea. But I'd rather have him attack know when we somewhat expect him to then to attack later when we don't. V-V-Voldemort's coming, but we won't make it easy for him."

Everyone stared at Ron for a moment, mixed between shock and awe at what he had said. George clapped his hand on Ron's shoulder and gave his younger brother an encouraging smile.

"Ronnie's right, he's coming sooner than we might of thought, but at least we knowing he's coming now and not later." George said, his voice and face rarely serious.

The words had the desired effect on everyone, but Harry felt the words hit him like a ton of bricks. Voldemort was coming, and he would come after Harry. A shudder ran through Harry at the thought, flashes of himself at the Riddle House playing like a movie inside his head. What would he do when he came face to face with Voldemort again? He felt his heartbeat quicken on its own accord at the thought, and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Harry told himself not to worry, but he mind shouted back _why not_? He had every right to worry.

"-What do you think, Harry?" George asked, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, looking up.

"Do you think that there's gonna be new rules enforced because of what happened at the Ministry?" George repeated.

"I-I don't know, I can't think straight ... Excuse me." Harry said vaguely as he sat up, walking towards the Boy's Dorm as fast as he could without raising suspicion.

Harry felt eyes staring at his back and the effort failed, they knew something was wrong. You need to learn to be less suspicious, it would save you from the lectures, he thought irritably as he hurried up the stairs. As he walked into the room he kicked off the trainers he was wearing, shoving them under his bed with his foot as he sat, shrugging off his robe and unbuttoning his flannel shirt and throwing them on the floor, and laid on his back in nothing but a t-shirt and blue jeans with his wand sticking out of the pocket. He stared at the hanging on his bed, unconsciously picking lint off his blanket as he lost himself in his thoughts.

_Why is it always me_? His mind kept repeating, thinking of all the traumatic events in his life,_ I'm just a kid, I don't deserve this_. A soft chuckle left his mouth without his permission, no one deserved this. Harry closed his eyes and relaxed against the bed, his exhaustion from the day finally catching up to him. He felt himself start to drift off, and welcomed it, when he heard the door to the room open. Harry snapped his eyes open and sat straight up, his arm reaching for his wand as his eyes tried to make out who was in front of him. The person walked closer and stood in front of him, and even with his blurry vision he knew it was her. Ginny.

"Hey." He said softly, his hand enclosing over his glasses instead and secured them on top of his nose.

"Hi there sleepy head." She replied, sitting next to him on the bed.

Harry couldn't help but be aware of how close she was sitting next to him, on his bed. Harry felt his cheeks warm at the thought, and felt goosebumps rise on his arm were her skin was touching him. Was she aware of the affect she had on him? Did she know how crazy she drove him?

"What are you doing up here?" Harry found himself asking.

He looked over at her and saw a flicker of concern cross her features before she composed herself. "I saw your face when George said what he did. The prat shouldn't of even brought it in the first place! They all know how much pressure is on you right now, the brainless gits!" Ginny said angrily, her eyes blazing.

Without really thinking Harry placed his hand on top of hers on the bed, and felt the tension in her body ease. "They shouldn't have to watch what they say just because I'm in the room, I don't blame them. It just got me thinking."

Ginny sighed and ran her free hand through her ginger hair. "There you go thinking again." She muttered teasingly.

Harry chuckled, " I know, its dreadful. The Great and Mighty Harry Potter thinking! That's absurd."

Ginny giggled and shook her head, "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that some of the ideas that form in your head scream danger and you're deaf to any warnings."

Harry felt the smile slip off his face, but he knew she was right. _When was one of his ideas ever safe_? He looked down at his lap and gave a sigh, and to his surprise he felt her grip his hand tightly.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Harry. I just want you to know that, and before you ever do anything you believe you have to do please run past me, or Ron, Or Hermione, or someone in my family. All we want to do is help you, but you need to help us in return."

Harry sighed and looked away from her, but kept his hand in hers, holding it tightly. "It isn't easy for me to let people in." He admitted sheepishly.

"I know it's hard. I just want to understand that we're here for you, no matter what." Ginny replied with a small smile.

Harry felt himself flush slightly, not used to hearing people saying they cared for him. Ginny squeezed his hand tighter, and Harry looked up to see her dazzling smile, and felt a smile grow on his face.

"Thanks." He whispered.

She just smiled and leaned in closer to him, and Harry felt himself freeze and his eyes widen. What was she doing? He felt her lips brush against his cheek for a moment before she pulled away, her cheeks tinged pink. Ginny then pulled her hand out of his and sat up off the bed.

"Your welcome. Come down later if you want to, but if you don't, we understand. Today's been stressful on everyone."

And with that Ginny left the dorm, leaving a still stunned Harry on the bed. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts before a large smile grew on his face, his eyes bright as he touched his cheek, which he found warm from Ginny's lips and his own blush. Coming out of daze Harry laid back down on the bed, his arms folded behind his head as he let his exhaustion consume him. _Progress_, Harry thought tiredly before he fell asleep, his dreams filled with Ginny.


	19. Chapter 19: Practice Makes Perfect

The cold November air smacked against Harry's cheek as he sped up on his Firebolt, his eyes searching the Quidditch field for the Snitch. He felt Angelina's eyes on his back, watching him carefully, which Harry tried his best to ignore. When Harry signed up for Quidditch for Seeker she had talked to him about his health, as a Captain should, and wanted to make sure he was good enough to be playing Quidditch. Harry almost lost it at the idea of not being able to play Quidditch, and promised her right away that he would be fine to play. At the tryouts he sat with Angelina, Fred, George, and Katie, the only members left from the original Quidditch team from Harry's first year, and was surprised at a few people who showed up.

A few first years came and wanted to join the team, and Angelina would of let them if they were good, and not there just to stare at Harry. A lot of people did come to tryouts, but just like the first years, they came to watch Harry, and after watching her Seeker blush under their gazes she shouted at them to leave the pitch. The people who did stay caught Harry's attention, one of them being his best friend.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were trying out?" Harry shouted at Ron over the mind as he threw a Quaffle in his direction.

"Things have been hectic lately, and I didn't want anyone to make jokes." Ron replied back, and Harry saw his eyes dart towards the twins who were hitting Bludgers with their bats.

After the tryouts Harry was delighted to find out that Ron made the team, replacing Oliver Wood, who left at the end of Harry's third year. After that Harry used his free time to show Ron the strategies the team usually used, wanting to help Ron, who was stressing over the match that was coming up against Slytherin.

In the past month a lot had changed for the Wizarding World. For one, the people who had still believed Voldemort had not returned were hit with the truth, Minister Scrigomore replaced Fudge, and Death Eater activity was high. Reports of kidnappings and murders were in the Daily Prophet every week, and Muggle's were turning up dead under the Dark Mark. It gave the Ministry a lot of work to do, and tested their new Minister as to what he would do to stop. He was doing good so far, better than Fudge, and Harry believed it was because he used to be Head Auror, and from what Tonk's had mentioned to Harry, he was very good at his job.

Harry ducked as he saw a Bludger come at him out of the corner of his eye, and flatten himself against his broom before it could crack his head open.

"OI! Watch where you hit those!" Harry shouted at Fred, who grinned back.

"Then don't stay in a spot for more than five minutes daydreaming!" Fred shouted back teasingly.

Harry called Fred something nasty that he had heard Ron mutter a few times and zoomed off, searching for the Snitch once again.

* * *

"Okay class! Put your books away today, I think we've read up of strategy enough to start practicing, don't you agree?" Tonk's told the class, rolling the blinds up on the windows with her wand.

Tonk's rolled the sleeves up on her green robes, turning around to looked at them, and showing what she looked like today. She had a thin face with bright green eyes and dirty blonde hair that was pulled up into a pony tail, which surprised Harry, used to her normally bubble pink hair. It was amusing at the start of term to watch peoples reactions when they saw Tonk's everyday, wondering how she could change her appearance so quickly.

Sighs rang across the room as everyone put away their books, tired of all the reading they had lately. Harry grinned as he grabbed his wand out of his pocket, excited for this defense lesson. Ron leaned across his desk and started muttering to Harry about what he wanted to learn, and Harry eagerly joined in, ignoring the glare Hermione was sending in their direction for not paying attention to Tonk's.

"Aright you lot, lets get started," Tonk's said, glancing in Harry and Ron's direction, and watched as they both gave guilty grins, "Today we'll be practicing the Stunning Spell. Now as you all know, the key behind the spell is to focus on your target and your target only, don't let anything else distract you, including your target. You can't let your mind wander to what your opponent might throw at you and what your next move will be, or your spell will fail and your chances of winning will decrease. Now, I need help in moving the desks so we have room to practice."

Everyone hurried out of their desks and used simple Levitating Charms to move them against the walls, and eagerly made a circle around Tonk's, then waited for her to instruct them.

"Now, just to refresh your memories, the incantation is 'Stupefy', and you just point your wand directly at your intended target. I'll demonstrate first, only volunteers?" Tonk's flashed a grin at them, her eyes scanning them.

When no one volunteered Tonk's picked Seamus as her target, who stood in front of her looking at her wand with curious eyes.

"You ready, Mr. Finnegan?" Tonk's asked, raising her wand.

Seamus nodded his head hesitantly and closed his eyes tight, not wanting to see the spell hit him.

"_Stupefy_!" Tonk's shouted, and the class watched as the red jet of light zoomed towards Seamus and hit him straight in the chest, and a small gasp of surprise escaped Seamus before he collapsed to the ground unconscious. Most of the class clapped, and just to amuse them Tonk's bowed dramatically.

"I think Sirius is a bad influence on her." Ron muttered in Harry's ear, who chocked back a fit of laughter.

Tonk's walked over to Seamus and poked him with her wand, "See? Completely unconscious! This spell is used in combat mostly, and effectively ends a duel. Ah, I think I should of had you lot grab out mats, I think Mr. Finnegan hit his head hard.." Tonk's blushed and waved her wand once again,

"_Ennervate_!"

Seamus grumbled and opened his eyes, bringing his hand to his head and cradling it. Tonk's waved her wand over his head once again and the bump forming on Seamus' head disappeared, much to his relief. After Seamus got up the class used their wands to put mats all over the floor until the whole room was covered with them. Harry and Ron partnered up together and Hermione paired with Parvarti, and they all waited for Tonk's next instructions.

"You'll be taking turns in Stunning your partner, and we'll only Stun about three times, for health reasons and some pride," The class laughed, "Now, what are you all waiting for? Get started you lot!"

Harry gripped his wand tightly in his hand and got into his dueling stance, and smirked at Ron across from him.

"Who's going first?" Harry asked, feeling adrenaline racing through him.

"I don't know, how about I-"

"_Stupefy!"_ Harry yelled, his wand pointed at Ron's chest.

Harry watched in amusement as Ron's eyes widen as he realized what was about to happen, and as the spell hit him in the chest, Harry laughed as Ron fell backwards. Hermione, who had just Stunned Parvarti, glanced over as Harry started laughing, and as she looked towards Ron she realized what happened.

"Boys." She muttered, shaking her head.

"You should of seen his face, M'ione." Harry choked out as he walked over towards Ron.

Harry could practically hear Hermione roll her eyes at him and he kneeled next to Ron, and pointed his wand straight at Ron's chest. When Harry woke up Ron he backed up just in case Ron wanted to get his revenge, but Ron broke out into a fit of laughter, with Harry joining him a moment later. Harry and Ron spent the rest of the hour practicing their Stunning, joking around as they did, much to Hermione annoyance and amusement. When class ended they started towards the door, talking about the lesson.

"Harry," Tonk's called, "Will you stay behind? I need to talk to you about something."

Harry nodded and waved off Ron and Hermione, who were going to wait, and told them to go to head off to Gryffindor Tower without him. When they left Harry walked over to Tonk's following her up the stairs to her office. When he walked in he sat in the chair in front of Tonk's desk, his eyes wondered around the office. No matter how times he had been in here already it stilled amazed him how eerily similar it looked to when Remus worked here. Tonk's settled behind her desk and moved papers out of her way and clasped her hands together on top of the desk.

"I spoke to Sirius this morning," She started, catching Harry's interest, "And as you know him, Remus, and Dumbledore have been working on finding a way to destroy the locket, and they believe they found a way to destroy it."

Harry nodded his head, "Okay, did he just want you to tell me or-?"

She smiled at him, "The problem is that they can't get to it. Only someone who can speak Parseltongue can access where they need to go."

Harry's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, "What are you...? Oh!"

_The Chamber of Secrets. How stupid was he? _

"But what do they need from there?" Harry asked.

"They've tried everything to destroy the locket, and Dumbledore believes that Basilisk venom might be the key to destroying the locket. Dumbledore agreed to wait until a time convenient to you, he doesn't want to interfere with your studies, and he doesn't know how long it will take."

Harry tried to remember how much homework he had this weekend, and when he did figure it out he contemplated how long it would take to do.

"If I finish my work today and part of tomorrow I could do it tomorrow evening." Harry told her.

"Are you sure? It's your Saturday, don't you want to spend it with your friends?" Tonk's questioned.

Harry smiled, "Don't worry about me Tonk's, I'm sure my friends can handle not being around me for a few hours."

Tonk's laughed a moment when chewed on her lower lip, "What about you? Will you be able to handle it?" She asked.

Harry smile became forced, "I'm tired of people worrying over me, Tonk's, it's been four months, I'm fine."

"Harry," Tonk's said with a sigh, "Your just a fifteen year old kid, and a very good one, of course I'll worry. I saw you when you came back from him, and no one would be fine eater that. I know that you must be annoyed with the constant watching and worry, but just suck it up, because we won't stop."

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his wild hair, and gave a nod of defeat, "I guess your right." He muttered.

"Of course I'm right Harry, you'll learn one way or the other that all girls are right. Remember that." Tonk's said with a wink.

Harry let out a snort and shook his head, rising out of his chair.

"Goodnight Harry."

"'Night Tonk's.

* * *

Harry felt someone inch closer to him as he signed his name on his paper, and set it in the pile of homework near his elbow. Looking up, he saw it was Hermione, who was looking at the pile in awe.

"You never do your homework until the last minute like Ron, what's going on?" She asked, sitting next to him at the table.

Harry glanced around the library and found only a handful of people scattered around, reading, or like him, finishing their homework.

"Nothing, Dumbledore needs me to help with something and I told him I would do it today after I finished my work. Why aren't you with Ron? Or Ginny for that matter?"

Hermione sat down in the chair next to Harry and grabbed the top piece of parchment off his pile of homework and started to read it, giving a small sigh as she did.

"Ron and I got into an argument earlier, and Ginny is working on a project for Flitwick's class. Is there anything I could help you with before you have to go?" Hermione asked, placing is homework back in its pile.  
Harry smiled, finishing up a question on his Transfiguration homework, "No, this is my last paper and I'm just about done. I feel bad about leaving you alone on a Saturday night."

Hermione gave a wave of her hand, "It's not a problem, I want to catch up on my reading since I haven't been about to lately."

Harry nodded, and they both sat in silence while Harry finished up his homework, and Hermione helped him pack everything away. After muttering a 'thank you', he and Hermione walked out of the library together.  
"I'll see you when you get back, Harry. Good luck." Hermione told him, giving him a warm smile as she made her down the hall and turned the corner, making her way to the Common Room.

Harry smiled to himself as he turned down the hall to his left, glad that Hermione didn't bother him with questions of what he was about to do, because he found himself not wanting anyone else to know. Losing himself in his thoughts, minutes felt like seconds as he fund himself standing at the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Acid Pops."

The gargoyles leaped out of his way, and slowly Harry made his way up to Dumbledore's office. When Harry entered the office he looked to the faces in front of him, and the last one caught him by surprise.

"Tonks?" He questioned, his green eyes lingering on her.

She gave him a smirk, "I've heard stories about your great adventure into the Chamber of Secrets and want to see which story is actually true." She explained, the smirk remaining on her face.

Harry felt his own smile tug at his lips, "Prepared to be amazed."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he watched the playful banter, noticing the slight tension in Harry's shoulders loosen, but after a few minutes he cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him.

"Well then, I have everything I believe we will need on my desk, and I also believe we all are ready to leave?" They all nodded. "Good, the Chamber awaits us."

Dumbledore grabbed the locket first and handed it to Sirius, who gripped it so tightly in his hand that his knuckle quickly turned white, a look of determination set on his pale, altered face. Dumbledore then grabbed a heavy looking sword Harry instantly recognized as the Sword of Gryffindor.

"Sir?" Harry asked, pointing towards the sword.

"I have a theory I would like to test down in the Chamber." He replied.

Harry nodded and moved closer to Sirius and Remus, who both were waiting with Tonk's quietly. When Dumbledore had everything they needed they quietly made their way down the stairs and into the hallway.

"I'm surprised you were allowed the come." Harry muttered quietly to Sirius, who gave a short laugh and tucked a piece of his long blonde hair behind his ear.

"I'm just as surprised as you, pup. I'm glad I'm hear though, anymore time in that damn house and I would of gone stir crazy." Sirius responded.

"Too late for the crazy part." Remus muttered under his breath.

Harry snorted and watched as Sirius kicked Remus' ankle, making the werewolf stumble and place a hand on the wall next to him.

"Do you all need to act so immature?" Tonk's asked in amusement.

"Yes." They all replied at once.

They all then stopped as they reached the entrance to the girls toilets, and only Tonk's and Dumbledore continued in after a moment. Sirius, Remus and Harry all looked at each other, sharing uneasy looks and scanning the hallways for any one watching.

"For Merlin's sake! It isn't like none of you haven't been somewhere you shouldn't of been before." Tonks hissed. "Especially you Harry! I know for a fact you've been in here more than twice."

Harry blushed at the reminder and quickly entered the bathroom, going over to the sinks and telling Dumbledore what he was looking for. By the time he found the snake faucet and was stroking it Sirius and Remus let go of your pride and entered the bathroom, watching him quietly.

"Is everyone ready?" Harry asked, looking over is shoulder at them.

"Continue, Harry." Dumbledore said as the rest nodded.

Harry concentrated on the snake, willing himself to believe it was real.

"_Open up_." He hissed in Parseltongue, making Sirius shiver behind him.

Harry stepped back as the sink turned into the entrance to the Chamber, and turned to look at the adults behind him with a small smile.

"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets."

* * *

A/N: Don't you just love cliffhangers?


	20. Chapter 20: His Fears

With a thud that echoed in the Chamber Harry fell onto the pile of bones awaiting for him, wincing as some sharp edged ones poked at his skin. Remus grabbed his arm and helped him up, keeping his grip on Harry as he looked around the Chamber full of bones and rubble, his eyes wide. Next came Dumbledore, still clutching the Sword tightly in his wrinkled hand, and used the Sword to quickly haul himself up and brushed some dirt off his robes. He then joined Harry and Remus, all three of them waiting patiently for Sirius and Tonks. Sirius came after a minute, swearing under his breath as he got off the bile of bones and holding his arm were the bones sliced his skin.

Remus snorted and quickly tried to hide it with a fake cough, but Sirius glared at him as he used his wand to clean and heal his wound. By the time Sirius finished Tonks came down and ungracefully fell in the pile of bones like the men, muttering about filth as she gripped Sirius' hand and stood up.

"It's straight ahead." Harry muttered unnecessarily, tired of watching them look around the chamber.

Dumbledore nodded and started walking towards ahead, with Sirius, Harry, Remus and Tonks following behind him. After a minute Harry could see more of rubble that fell between him and Ron the last time he was down here, but the large snake skin still covered the ground.

"Bloody Hell! How big was the snake?!" Sirius exclaimed, studying the snake skin with Dumbledore.

Harry ran his hand through his hair, watching Remus and Tonks join Sirius and Dumbledore.

"Never did I expect the Basilisk to be this large..." Dumbledore muttered, running his hand over the skin.

Harry, who felt his patience thinning by the second, gave a sigh and hurried down the rest of the way until he was met with the doors that entered into the Chamber.

"I'm ready whenever you lot are." He called to the adults, a hint of frustration in his voice.

Picking up on what he thought was nerves, Remus managed to separate Sirius and Dumbledore from the skin and walked with Tonks by his side over to Harry.

"_Open_," Harry hissed, making himself believe the snakes on the door were alive, and stepped back as he heard the door opening.

Sirius pulled on his arm and led Harry to his side, keeping a protective hold on him as the Chamber came into full view, the smell of dirt and decay invading their noses. Dumbledore was the first to fully enter, his eyes wide as he examined a piece of Hogwarts he had never actually seen before. Harry smiled weakly at Sirius, Remus, and Tonks, who had turned to look at him warily, knowing the horrors he experienced.

"I'll be fine, lets go destroy this bloody Horcrux." Harry finally said after an awkward moment, and brushed past them before anyone could say anything.

Harry walked in and stood next to Dumbledore, letting himself look more closely at the Chamber, picking up on more details than he did before when he and Ginny were here three years ago. A shudder ran through him at the thought. Suddenly he heard the intake of breath behind him and knew the rest of them finally entered. Harry turned around just as Sirius cursed a long string of words, and was actually stunned when neither Tonks or Remus hit him for it.

But as he followed their gaze, he found himself staring at the remains of the beast he had killed to save himself and Ginny. Another shudder ran through him, and he felt his breath hitch as he realized how close Ginny was to being crushed by the snake. Tonks walked over to him then and squeezed his shoulder, taking his behavior as distress.

"It's okay, "She whispered gently in his ear, "It's all over now."

Instead of feeling annoyed as he thought he would, Harry actually felt comforted at her words, like a mother would comfort her child. For once, he let someone get away with it. Remus walked closer to the skeleton of the Basilisk and hesitantly touched the bones, studying them close as he did. Suddenly wanting a closer look a well, Harry shrugged off Tonks hand and hurried towards Remus, ignoring Sirius who called him back.

"How on earth did you survive against this? At twelve years old?" Remus asked as he stared at Harry in wonder.

"I barely did," Harry murmured back, not noticing the other three adults join them, "If Fawkes hadn't been their to heal me the poison would of killed me."

"It bit you?" Sirius asked behind him, sounding furious.

Harry turned around and looked at both Sirius and Dumbledore.

"I thought you knew, I thought Dumbledore would of told you." Harry stated.

"I would of told Sirius if I would of known you were bitten, Harry." Dumbledore told him, looking as surprised as Sirius.

"But I thought you saw the blood on my robes and the hole in my robes were I was bitten." Harry said incredulously.

Dumbledore shook his head, "I assumed the blood was from the snake, and since your robes were ruined all over I thought nothing of the hole. You also said nothing of being bitten in your story." Dumbledore answered, sounding disappointed.

"That's because Ginny was there - never mind, we need to focus on the Horcrux."

Dumbledore nodded, but Sirius started to open his mouth to protest, but stopped at the look Harry gave him. Angrily he pulled out the Horcrux instead, glaring at it as if it was the reason his godson was hurt in the first place. Harry glance over at the Basilisk and noticed the missing tooth from the rows that stuck out of its jaw, and an idea struck him. Without voicing his plan to the adults Harry walked away from them as they studied the locket closely, muttering on how to destroy it.

Harry stopped within distance of the fangs and gingerly held his hand out towards one, not really knowing what would happen if he did touch it. Summoning his Gryffindor courage Harry grabbed a hold of the closet fang, and held it as he waited for something to happen. But nothing did. Smiling to himself Harry gripped the fang tightly and pulled with all his might, a grunt leaving his lips as he pulled the fang out.

"What are you doing?" Remus suddenly asked, looking up when he heard Harry grunt.

"I have an idea."

Harry walked over with the fang gripped in his hand, and held it up for everyone to see, ignoring the looks of surprise he was given.

"I bet all the galleons in my vault that the fangs still have venom left in them, because when I was bitten that tooth held a lot of poison in it, and trust me when I say that." Harry pulled back his sleeve and quickly showed them the scar he had from the fang to prove his point.

"But how would that destroy the locket? Look at the outer shell, its made of strong metal." Sirius said, holding the locket up to show.

Dumbledore walked over to Sirius and gently took the locket out of his hand, his blue twinkling eyes searching for any weakness. Harry could literally see the gears working in Dumbledore's brain as he conjured up a plan.

"If we open the locket we can stab the Horcrux inside, but the question is, how do we get it open?" Dumbledore questioned, almost to himself.

Harry looked down at the locket and saw that Dumbledores fingers were prying at the locket opening, but it didn't even bulge.

"Maybe a spell could open it?" Tonks suggested half heartedly.

"No," Sirius quickly answered her, "When I got bored at Grimmauld Place I tried everything I knew to open it, even a few Dark Spells I learned from my dear parents, but nothing worked."

As if the words snapped something in Dumbledore's brain, a look of realization had drawn on his face as he glanced down at the locket.

"Of course..." He muttered under his breath.

"What is it, Albus?" Remus asked.

But the look on Dumbledore's face made Harry wish he wouldn't answer.

"Voldemort would do anything to protect his Horcruxes, he would use his own powers and advantages to secure their safety. He used Parseltongue as a password to open this Horcrux." Dumbledore said slowly, glancing over at Harry.

"No," Both Remus and Sirius said at the same time, understanding what Dumbledore was about to ask.

"I don't want Harry anywhere near that damned thing when it opens! Who knows what'll come out of it." Sirius said angrily.

As Remus and Sirius continued with their little argument Harry watched with frustration surging through him. They didn't even bother asking if Harry wanted to do it, or how he even felt about it. He understood that Sirius was his godfather and Remus was like a second godfather, Harry didn't like the idea of them deciding for him, no matter who they were.

"- I don't care how long it would take to destroy the bloody thing! As long as Harry-"

"Enough!" Harry cut off Remus, his voice loud and serious.

Remus, Sirius, and Tonks all looked at him incredulously, while Dumbledore looked at him with curiosity bright in his eyes.

"Don't act as if I'm not in the room, I can make my own decisions." Harry started, his anger rising along with his voice, " As long as I have something to destroy the Horcrux with I'll do it."

"Harry," Sirius began to protest.

"I'll be fine Sirius," Harry said quickly, seeing to torn look on his face, "I'm not 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' for nothing." He added.

Remus and Sirius both shared a look before they glanced over at Tonks, who looked at them both with a grim expression, but nodded.

"Even though I know you want to do this Harry, I will only let you with your godfathers permission." Dumbledore told him, watching Sirius.

Harry could see that Sirius was hesitant, debating wither he should allow Harry to do this or not. Harry gave an encouraging smile to prove he wasn't scared and was ready to help convince Sirius, but it was the exact opposite of what he felt. In truth he was only doing this so that he was one step closer to getting rid of Voldemort, but he was wary of what would happen as soon as that locket opened.

"Fine." Sirius finally said with a huff, "But as soon as something goes wrong I won't hesitate to interfere."

Harry nodded and walked over to Dumbledore, holding his hand out in front of him. Dumbledore gave him a small smile as he dropped the locket into Harry's hand, who tried to suppress the shudder that ran through him as soon as the cold metal contacted with his skin. Clenching in tightly in his hand Harry walked to the middle of the room and set the locket down at his feet, looking down at his weapon of choice.

"Harry," Dumbledore started, holding the sword in front of him, "Would you mind by testing a theory I have about this sword? I believe that it might have some venom from the snake in it."

Without answering Harry quickly walked back to Dumbledore and exchanged the fang from the sword, taking a moment to get used to its weight before he walked back over to the locket, his heart racing as he prepared himself.

"Stand back." He called out, hoping his voice didn't betray his nerves.

Harry took a deep breath and held the sword out in front of him, his plan to hit the opened locket with the blade as soon as he opened it.

"Open up." Harry hissed in parseltongue.

And with a flash of bright light the locket opened.

It was almost as if a small bomb went off, sending everyone within ten feet off their feet, landing painfully on the ground. Harry supported himself on his elbows and adjusted his glasses, only to have his eyes widen in shock at what was in front of him. It looked as if a small tornado was in front of him with the dust forming Voldmorts face before he became snake-like. Harry started in horror as the cold smile grew on the face, watching him with emotionless eyes.

"_Harry Potter_," The face said, making Harry shiver, unaware of the gust of wind circling around himself and the face, "_I have seen your dreams and your fears, and I can destroy you with both_."

A flash of sickening green light shot through the wind that made up Voldemort, only to be replaced with the bodies of his parents, their open dead eyes looking straight at him. Harry felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared at them, his nightmares coming back to haunt him. Another flash of light and Sirius joined them, flash, Remus fell next to the pile. Unaware of the voices calling out to him and the people trying to reach out for him, Harry dropped the sword to his side as his anguish overtook him, hitting him like a bolt of lightening.

"_Love will be your downfall_." Voldemort whispered as another flash shot through the wind.

Ginny. Harry felt himself start to shake, her body laying there reminding him vividly of her in the Chamber at eleven, the life being drained from her body... Flash, Ron landed in the pile. Flash, Hermione fell next to him. Harry tried to move away, but his feet wouldn't obey his mind, his eyes glued to the rapidly growing pile.

"Harry! It's not real!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs, but Harry couldn't think straight.

As more bodies were added to the large amount already there Harry fell to his knees and felt tears well up in his eyes.

"_Love makes you weak, love makes you vulnerable. Everyone around you dies, all because you entered their lives_." The face taunted.

Harry hid his face in his hands as the tears escaped his eyes, not wanting the face to see them, knowing they showed the weakness he felt. _This can't be real, it's not possible_. He thought repeatedly, refusing to believe what was in front of his eyes. Collecting his thoughts and emotions, Harry took his hands off his face and quickly turned his eyes to the walls of the tornado surrounding him, and could see Remus, Tonks, and Sirius trying to find a way to enter as they screamed his name and curse words. Just the sight of them breathing and moving gave Harry enough strength to grip the sword in his hands and shakily get back on his feet.

"_You could of been free from this pain if you had chosen to join me instead of that old fool, you could of been powerful_." Voldemort told him.

Harry called Voldemot something creative and very inappropriate as he lifted the sword over his shoulder and lined it up with the Horcrux, and with everything he had swung it right in the middle of the Horcrux. As the venom-filled sword connected with the cold metal a loud, pain filled scream echoed through the chamber as the piece of Voldemort's soul was destroyed. As soon as the scream died out Harry dropped the sword and fell to his knees, the wind and pile of bodies leaving as he did.

Remus and Sirius instantly rushed to Harry as Tonks made her way to the Horcrux to make sure it was not a threat anymore, trusting Sirius and Remus to take good care of Harry. As a sob escaped Harry's lips he found his head laying on Sirius' chest and he held Harry to him, comforting him the best he could as he tried to collect his own emotions. Remus rubbed his back and muttered comforting words, putting Harry before his own emotions, as he always had with anyone else. Finally Tonks walked over with the broken locket tucked away in her robes, and joined in on the small group hug.

"It's all over, Harry. It wasn't real." She muttered as she kissed his head.

"It could be." Harry responded.

"Don't talk like that," Remus snapped, "You will never be left alone, never again."

Harry took in a shaky breath and closed his eyes, soaking in the comfort he was given. They all sat on the chamber floor until everyone was calmed down enough. Remus gripped Harry's arms and helped him up as Sirius grabbed Tonks hand, and together they made their way out of the chamber to where Fawkes was waiting for them, wanting to forget everything they were forced to see.

* * *

Harry woke up to the sun shining in his eyes, irritating him instantly, and rolled away from it. He pulled the covers over his body to escape the cold air, keeping his eyes closed so he could fall asleep again. But as the minutes passed his thoughts kept him from sleeping, and with an annoyed groan he opened his eyes and sat up. As he stretched he pulled the curtains away and expected to see the other boys in the room, and found every single one of them gone. Harry grabbed his glasses and looked over at the Muggle alarm clock he had, and found it was a little after twelve in the afternoon. Cursing under his breath he got off of his bed and searched for his socks under the bed and then quickly dressed, and pointlessly put a wet comb through his hair before he made his way to the Common Room.

As he entered he saw people coming in through the entrance from lunch, and sat down on the couch closest to the fire as he waited for his friends to return. Surprisingly enough it was Ginny that came back first, who usually sat at the table with girls in her grade until the food was cleared, and sat right next to Harry on the couch.

"Long night?" She asked, looking at his tired eyes.

"You have no idea." He muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

Ginny laughed and reached her hand towards him, and plucked a stray eyelash off of his face.

"You look like hell, no offence." Ginny said, looking more closely at him.

Now it was Harry who laughed, and rolled his eyes at her.

"Thanks for the flattering comment."

She smacked his arm playfully, "You know what I mean you prat." She said with a small laugh.

"Your easy to mess with, you know that right?" Harry teased.

"A Bat-Boogy Hex is easy to conjure, you know that right?"

Harry held his hands up in surrender, "I take that back. My apology's to Princess Ginerva."

Ginny scroffed playfully, "That's Queen Ginerva to you."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"That's right Potter, and don't you forget it."

They both erupted into laughter at the same time, unaware of Ron and Hermione entering the room and walking towards them. But when they felt the couch dip in added weight they looked at them, smiles on both their faces.

"What did we miss?" Hermione asked with a sideways glance at Harry.

"Harry doesn't know what to take a compliment."

Oi! Like that was a compliment! 'You look like hell Harry.'" He quoted.

Ron chuckled as Hermione shook her head, "Well..." He started.

Harry didn't let him finish as he grabbed a worn couch pillow and swung it at Ron's face, muffling the rest of the comment and the yelp of surprise. They all couldn't help but laugh as at look on Ron's face as the pillow fell, and weren't prepared as Ron quickly grabbed the pillow and retaliated by smacking Harry with it, turning it into a all-out war with the boys as Hermione and Ginny laughed at them, which lead to them being mixed in the cross fire.

"What's up with you lot?" George asked as him and Fred walked down from the boys dorm, fidgeting with their singed sleeves.

"Either Ron or Harry insulted each other, it's obvious Georgie." Fred replied, sitting on the ground by Hermione.

"No, Ron agreed with Ginny's insult." Hermione answered, ducking her head as Ron went to hit Harry.

"Our Gin-Gin?"

"Shut it, carrot head." Ginny teased, poking her brothers head with her big toe.

Fred cringed back and ran his hand over his head, and then wiped his hand off on the floor.

"Merlin Ginny, get those dirty smelling feet away from my precious hair!"

As Ginny laughed Ron and Harry gave up on their ridiculous fight, both winded and slightly sweaty as they sat back down.

"So," George started, "What are you doing today? And don't say homework, because I might be physically sick if I see another piece of homework."

Harry looked at Ginny at confusion, and they both were surprised when Ron and Hermione shared a knowing look.

"Have the teachers started lecturing you about N.E.W.T's?" Hermione asked.

Fred and George answered with strangled groans.

"What are "N.E.W.T's?" Harry asked, looking towards the twins.

"Ugh, where's Percy The Prat when you need him? N.E.W.T stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test's, and they determine which kind of job's you can get after you graduate." Fred replied.

"Fantastic name to give a test." Harry sarcastically said, "I mean, who in the hell picked that name?"

Everyone gave a chuckle and shook their heads, none of them knowing the answer.

* * *

The week past quickly and Harry found himself making his way down to the Great Hall from dinner, wanting to grab something small he could stomach before he got started on the pile of homework he had waiting for him upstairs. For the past week the events from both times he had been in the Chamber of Secrets haunted him, along with the dream of the corridor he was always finding himself in. It both confused and scared the hell out of him, wanting nothing more than to forgot both. Harry found himself eating less too, hardly being able to stomach his food without raising suspicion, on his appetite and vomiting at the same time.

He already knew Tonks was keeping her on him, no doubt Sirius or Remus or even both asked her to, or maybe she wanted to, he didn't care to ask, not wanting to be trapped alone in the room with her, because he knew what she would want to talk about. Harry wasn't ready to talk though, and he thought he might never be ready. None of them understood how horrifying it was for him to stare at the growing pile of bodies of the people he loved, for the truth of what could happen to be thrust upon him. Stop thinking about it, he told himself, and quickened his pace to the Great Hall.

As Harry thrust his hand out to open the door, Cho Chang opened it herself and found herself face to face with Harry, alone. As they both realized this Harry paled and Cho flushed, tucking piece of her black hair behind her ear.

"Hey Harry-" She started, but Harry quickly pasted her.

"Sorry, Ron and Hermione are expecting me." He said hastily as he walked through the doors, not noticing her disappointed look.

Harry knew that he was avoiding her, hell, who wasn't he avoiding this week? But he didn't want to talk to her about Cedric, it was too hard and too fresh in his mind. Harry walked over to the Gryyfindor table and sat down in his seat, scanning the table for fast and easy food, grabbing a roll, apple, ham sandwich and a glass of pumpkin juice before he sat back up and started towards the doors again.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, grabbing a piece of chicken,

"I got homework to do." Harry muttered, averting his gaze from Ron's eyes.

It wasn't surprising that Ron and Hermione were catching on that something was wrong, since Harry was finding stuff to do instead of hanging out with them, like reading or his homework, but he knew it had to be like that. After waking up from his nightmares for the forth time in a row, Harry sat on his bed and tried to calm himself down, thinking of ways to help get rid of the nightmares. That was when he concluded that, if he distanced himself from his friends and family, that when the time cam and they were gone, the pain wouldn't be so intense.

"You sound like Hermione, but even she eats more than that and works less. What's gotten into you? You look dead on your feet and incredibly skinny, when's the last time you've had a decent meal?"

"I'm fine, Ron." Harry snapped, trying to hitch his bag over his shoulder without spilling his pumpkin juice.

"Don't try to feed me that shit! You have bags under your eyes and I've heard you walking around at night! Are your nightmares back again?"

Harry felt himself pale at the mention of his nightmares. Not wanting to answer Ron, Harry gripped his plate and glass and turned away from him, walking towards the doors that led out of the Great Hall, leaving Ron watching him with disbelief and worry.  
Hermione then walked in, her head turned behind her shoulder as she watched Harry storm off, then turned to see Ron staring in her direction and quickly made her way over to him.

"What's going on? What did you say to him?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to him, her voice non-accusing.

"I just asked him what was wrong and he snapped on me! We both know something is wrong, he looks like a ghost! Or he's seen one for the first time." Ron added.

Hermione sighed as she started to spoon food onto her plate, "I've known something was wrong since Sunday. Harry was too giddy and joking, which he never does and people usually joke to hid their emotions, and then Monday he was only speaking when he was spoke to. And then Wednesday, something changed because he stopped hanging out with us and was working more, I don't know what caused it. I know he won't open up to us since he's been avoiding us, so I decided to contact Sirius. I just sent him my letter and hopefully he'll be able to get Harry to open up."

Ron nodded, glad Hermione had thought of something that would actually help Harry instead of them fighting with Harry to open up and tell them.

"That was a brilliant idea." Ron praised as he cut up his chicken.

Since Ron didn't have his attention on her he didn't notice Hermione blush.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know this is late, but it was not my fault. Was the site acting a little funny for anyone else? The entire layout of the website on my computer was different and their was nooo way to log in or even access my account, and it stayed like that until today. It was beyond frustrating, and I apologies for the overdue update. Okay, so this account is up to date with my other one, so it might take me a little time to work on the next chapter, because it isn't completely finished. I have finals this week and some of next so the chapter might not be up till the end of next week. Thank you all for understanding! R&amp;R!


	21. Chapter 21: Help Is Always Given

A lone hooded figure made its way down the full moon lit path bathing the street, the streetlights above flickering slightly at the magical power radiating off the man walking. Luckily it was almost midnight, and most of the Muggles's in the area would be tucked away in their bedrooms sleeping. The figure continued down the road before he came to a stop at an old worn down house in between the house of 11 and 13, which didn't appear to anyone who didn't know the secret of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The man turned and walked past the rusty gates that guarded the front yard and only stopped when he reached the door.  
He knocked twice to announce his arrival before openly the door and letting himself in, shutting the door with a loud creak behind him. As he made to take his cloak off he heard Sirius walking down the hallway, and made sure to keep his face in the light so he wouldn't be hit by any curses. Sirius entered the room with his wand drawn out in front of himself, but relaxed as he saw the man standing in his house.

"Albus! I wasn't expecting you till a bit later. Follow me." Sirius said, motioning Dumbledore to join him as he started to walk down the hallway.

"Did I scare you Sirius?" Dumbledore asked with amusement evident in his voice.

Sirius and Dumbledore entered the living room where a roaring fire was lit in the fireplace, giving the room a comforting color, and made for the couch in front of the fire. Sirius looked at him and gave Dumbledore a mock scowl, but gave a short laugh and shook his head as he sat down in the chair on the side of the couch.

"You should be proud of yourself, old man. Sneaking up on a prankster. But I can't help but feel a little jumpy, I get paranoid." Sirius replied, grabbing his glass of firewhisky from earlier off the coffee table.

"It appears so."

Dumbledore settled on the couch with a smile and poured himself a glass of firewisky.

"So, you received a letter earlier today from Ms. Granger that concerns Harry?" Dumbledore asked, getting to the point of his visit.

Sirius took a swig of his drink before answering, "Yes, and I usually wouldn't make a big deal out of a single letter, but what she said left me worried. I knew that the events in the Chamber of Secrets would effect him, but I didn't know how, because he reacts differently to every situation. But what Hermione said made me worry."

Sirius grabbed a slightly crumbled letter off the table and handed it to Dumbledore, who took it with a withered hand and adjusted his glasses before he started to read. Sirius watched him for any reaction but unsurprisingly Dumbledore kept his emotions in line, and looked over at Sirius when he came to the end.

"Hmm, well Harry's behavior is very interesting." Dumbledore finally said.

"Interesting? It's bloody weird, unlike him. One day he's joking with them, the next he's quiet, and a few days after that he's ignoring them and snapping at everyone! Hermione thinks something happened either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, because that's when he took to staying in the library and doing anything but hanging out with them, or Ginny, or any of the Weasley's!" Sirius ranted, his hands making gestures as he talked.

"I know why you are concerned Sirius, and I can't help but think Voldemort is somehow involved in this." Dumbledore quietly answered.

"Voldemort?" Sirius asked in shock.

Dumbledore nodded his head, "You heard me correctly. We both saw that figure of Voldemort appear in the Chamber, even though it was only an allusion, it might of said something to Harry enough to make him question something. With Voldemort's return and the connection him and Harry share we knew that Voldemort would try to use that to his advantage. I believe that through his Horcrux he could of tried to mess with Harry, to make him question something enough to make him withdraw from his friends."

Sirius took his time registering what Dumbledore told him, not wanting to believe that Voldemort would try to hurt Harry again so quickly after the kidnapping.

"Is there anything we can do? That I could do?" Sirius asked, almost pleadingly.

"What we can do is let Harry know we are here for him whenever he is ready to talk. You, as his godfather, might be able to get through to him easier. You and Harry share a connection that runs very deep, similar to the ones he shares with Remus. You understand him more than either of you believe. If you push a little he may open up and tell you, and even if it doesn't work right away he'll know that your there whenever he needs to talk to someone." Dumbledore responded.

Sirius nodded, picking up his glass and drowning the last of his firewhisky, his throat already used to the sting feeling.

"Thank you Albus, for all your help." Sirius muttered, picking himself off the chair.

Dumbledore rose as well and put his hand out and shook hands with Sirius, a sincere smile on his face.  
"Not a problem at all."

* * *

Harry secured the towel tightly around his waist as he stepped out of the shower, the room blurry from the steam and his lack of eye sight, and used his towel to unfog his glasses before he put them back on and walked over to the counter, grabbing another towel to dry his hair with. His frustration from his small fight with Ron still lingered from earlier that day, just as he got over Ron's accusations he made in the Great Hall, Ron opened his big mouth the next day and asked Harry why he wasn't talking to either himself or Hermione. Harry snapped at Ron to leave him alone and skipped the class he had that day, which was Divination, not that he would miss anything worth knowing.

Gritting his teeth, Harry used his hand to clear the steam off the mirror in front of him and started to rub the towel on his scalp. Harry knew that after his decision to keep his friends away from them for their own safety, that his friends would fight him, even if they didn't know why they had to fight back in the first place. But Harry didn't tell them his decision, because it made it too real and he wasn't absolutely sure he wanted it, even though he knew he needed to protect them. Harry had never really been the one to snap at people and he knew it, he was just irritated quickly for some reason the past month and didn't really know what triggered it. Puberty, he thought with a shrug, throwing the towel he used to dry his hair on the ground and grabbed his comb.

After he finished getting the knots out of his hair, he dried he rest of his body and put on his boxer along with his sweats and a t-shirt, and got out of the bathroom. Looking at the muggle clock he kept on his nightstand he found it was only seven thirty, which was way too early for him to even consider going to bed, so decided to grab his copy of '_Quidditch Through the Ages'_ off the coffee table in the Common Room for something to do. Climbing down the stairs Harry spotted red hair by the table off to the side of the stairs, and quietly descended the stairs. But as he got closer he noticed the hair was longer than any of the Weasley boys and realized it was Ginny, and felt guilt rise in him.

Surprisingly she was the only one Harry never snapped at, but just gave her a small smile as he passed, because out of everyone else Ginny never asked him what was wrong, but treated him like a normal person, giving him the space Ron and Hermione never did, and he appreciated it immensely. Harry passed her with a sad smile and made for the coffee table in front of the fireplace, seeing his book and reaching for it.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, curled up on a chair near the fireplace with thick volume placed in her lap.

"What?" He asked, grabbing his book, purposely turning his back towards her.

"Ron mentioned you never showed up for Divination, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She said in a shy voice.

Harry closed his eyes and sighed, knowing she was scared that he would snap at her like he had for most of the week. Guilt flared even more in his stomach, so he turned to face her with a soft smile on his face.

"I'm fine, I just needed some space." Harry replied, not looking her in the eye.

"More space? Harry, we've been trying to give you enough space to deal with whatever you're going through, but it's like your distancing yourself away from us on purpose."

Harry felt his irritation override his guilt and tried to control it, knowing Hermione had enough of his rude behavior.

"You two have been nagging me every time I don't talk, do you really blame me for wanting to get away from that?" He asked.

Hermione flinched a little at that, clearly hurt by his words.

"I know you two only do it because you care, but I need my space." Harry quickly added, not wanting to be more of an ass than he was already being.

Before Hermione could say anything else to him he gripped his book tightly and turned away from her, making his way back up the stairs and to the fifth year dorm, feeling guilty and irritated, but confused as to why he was feeling both. He opened the curtains around his bed and went to sit down, but Hedwig knocked her beak on the window beside his bed, and went to open the window in confusion. When did I send Hedwig out? He wondered, watching her make her way into the room and to him, with a letter gripped tightly in her beak.

"Hey there girl, what do you got for me?" Harry asked, holding his arm out for her to perch on.

Hedwig landing on his arm and clucked her beak enthusiastically, and Harry removed the letter from her mouth and looked down at the writing on the front. The letter was addressed for him, in Sirius' handwriting. Harry almost dropped the letter in shock, not remembering the last time he had written to Sirius. Was something wrong? As Hedwig removed herself off his arm and made for her cage, Harry ripped the envelope open and grabbed the letter out.

_Harry,_

_Is there something you wanted to tell me? A little birdy told me that you've been acting strange this past week. Someone (and I won't say who) sent me a letter concerning your behavior, and it worried me. You never told me what the Horcrux said to you down in the Chamber of Secrets, but I believe it said something to scare you enough to stay away from people. Am I right? Has anything else happened? If you need to talk face to face all you need to do is tell Dumbledore that you need to talk to me and you can Floo to Grimmauld Place for a while. We need to do something, because you never act like this, and you need to fix your behavior before you loose any of your friends. Please, just come and talk to me._

_Love, Snuffles_

Harry set the letter down on his bed and bit his lip, thinking over the letter. _Should he tell Sirius? What should he tell him? The weird dreams he'd been having, the thoughts, what the Horcrux said? Everything_, a little voice in his head told him. Harry was conflicted and scared, what if he was going crazy? But Harry's heart tugged at the thought of getting everything off his chest, at the chance of getting help with what he was going through. Harry ran and slightly shaking hand through his hair and laid out on his bed, his heart fighting a voice in his head saying _'Don't do it, it's none of his god damn business!'_

After thinking about for an hour going over the pro's and con's, with his sleepiness creeping in from sleepless nights, his heart won; he would tell Sirius everything.

* * *

The day past quickly for Harry as he found himself making his way to dinner in the Great Hall, planning on having a quick dinner before asking Dumbledore for permission to visit Sirius to talk. Entering the Great Hall Harry found it almost empty, since dinner was almost done with, which was when Harry usually liked to come so their weren't as many people around. Harry sat down on the bench and made a small plate of food, finally noticing how little he had been eating for the past week, but ate the little amount of food he had on his plate and drank his glass of water. When he finished he stood up from the table and looked towards the teachers table and saw Dumbledore was missing from his chair. Looking around the hall, Harry noticed Dumbledore leaving the hall, and hurried towards him.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry called, catching the mans attention.

"May I help you Harry?" Dumbledore asked informally since no other student was around.

"I was wondering if I could use the fireplace in your office to Floo over to Grimmauld Place for a while, I need to talk to Sirius." Harry asked in a quiet voice.

Dumbledore smile, almost as if he was glad, "Of course, Harry. Take all the time you need. Follow me."

Harry gave a shy 'thanks' and followed Dumbledore down the corridor until they reached the Griffin statue that lead to Dumbledore's office, which Dumbledore gave the password (Licorice Wand) and together they made their way for his office. Harry lagged behind as Dumbledore searched his desk drawers for his Floo Powder, looking around until Dumbledore found the little pouch and handed it to Harry, wishing him a goodnight.

Harry waited until Dumbledore was inside his living chambers before he through the Floo Powder in the fire, watching it roar to life and turn green, and then stepped inside.

"Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!" Harry yelled over the fire.

Harry tucked in his elbows as he traveled through the Floo Network, making sure to keep his mouth closed so he didn't inhale any soot. Harry stumbled as he landed in Sirius' fireplace, but surprisingly a pair of arms caught him.

"Harry!" Sirius said in surprise, "I didn't expect you so soon."

Harry smiled and hugged Sirius, noting that Sirius didn't look like a skeleton anymore and added on some much needed weight that Azkaban robbed him of, and looked healthier than ever.

"I didn't expect to come here so soon myself." Harry answered, biting his lips hesitantly.

"So you read my letter? I'm glad you came, we need to talk. Come sit." Sirius motioned to the couch in front of the fireplace where a copy of the _'Daily Prophet'_ sat, with a picture of Fudge on the front page. Ignoring it as Sirius set it on the table in front of them, Harry sat down beside Sirius and looked down at his hands, not knowing where to begin.

"Before I ask you anything else, I want to know what happened in the chamber." Sirius asked.

Harry hesitated before he began, "When I used Parsaltongue to open the locket, it exploded and a figure of Voldemort appeared, and I didn't notice anything else that was happening. I was so focused on him and felt so afraid, I felt like I was back at in Little Hangleton. He told me that everyone around me died all because they knew me and... and that it would destroy me."

Sirius didn't hesitate as he pulled Harry into a hug, holding Harry to himself as he felt Harry shake. "You know none of that is true, Harry. Voldemort is the reason your parents are gone, along with Quirrel and Bertha Jones and everyone else Voldemort has killed. It's all his fault."

Harry buried his head against Sirius' shoulder, drawn towards the physical comfort he had been long denied. When Harry didn't argue back Sirius took at as an agreement to his words, and simply held Harry, knowing that this was the most Harry had probably talked without snapping at anyone.

"There's... There's more, Sirius." Harry finally spoke up after a few moments.

Sirius nodded, giving Harry the time he needed to recollect himself.

"I've been having these weird dreams for months now, about a dark corridor and a locked door that I can never open, and a few times Voldemort's been there waiting for me, cornering me and taunting me about how no matter where I go that he'll be able to get me, that I can ever escape him. There's more," Harry said as Sirius started to open his mouth, "I-I've been having weird thoughts too. I keep convincing myself that Voldemort will kill everyone I love because they're connected to me, and with what happened in the Chamber of Secrets amplified that fear, along with the nightmares that came along with it. I finally told myself that distancing myself will make it hurt less when they die."

"Bloody hell," Sirius whispered, hugging Harry even tighter to him, "No wonder you've been acting like this. You should of said something earlier, I could of helped. Merlin, why did Albus have to be right?" Sirius ranted, petting Harry's hair.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"After I got the letter from Hermione I called Albus to talk about what she said, and Dumbledore had a feeling that Voldemort might use the connection to mess with your thoughts, and it looks like your dreams as well. Maybe your emotions." Sirius explained.

Harry felt all the color leave his face at the thought, and felt himself start to shake, "He can do that through the connection? What the hell am I gonna do Sirius?!" Harry asked with rising panic.

"What I need you to do is calm down, I need to talk to Albus and even Poppy about this, they might know something you could do to block him out," Sirius let go of Harry and push him down, making Harry lay out on the couch, "Now I know you're exhausted, I can see it on your face. You didn't sleep good night last did you? Or any night this week?" Harry shook his head, feeling like a five year old as Sirius grabbed a blanket and covered him with it, "I want you to relax while I Floo Albus, I don't want you to worry about your friends and classes tomorrow, just try to catch up on your sleep."

Harry nodded and tried to control his shaking body, telling himself that there was nothing he could do right now, except for to calm down and sleep. He heard Sirius call for Dumbledore and start to talk quickly, explaining the situation, and Harry closed his eyes, allowing the sound of Sirius' voice to calm him and lull him to sleep, feeling safer than he had in a while. After about a half hour, Sirius finished talking to Dumbledore and Harry was half asleep, and he walked towards the couch and kneeled in front of Harry.

"Albus is coming over in the morning to explain what we're going to do, and you're excused from all you're classes since I'm keeping you here. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, I'll be using my mirror to talk to Remus." Sirius explained.

Harry hardly heard him though, but gave a soft nod of his head. Sirius gave a soft chuckle and kissed Harry's forehead, and frowned when he felt a slight fever. Harry was literally getting sick from all the stress he was dealing with, and Sirius was glad that they might of found a solution to help him.

* * *

**_A/N: I literally just finished writing this chapter, and it's about 2 in the morning where I live. Oh well, who needs sleep anyway? School is over and I'll have more time on my hands, but that doesn't mean I'll have the chapters up quicker. But I still plan to continue writing, I have too many plans for this story to stop._**


	22. Chapter 22: Hello Again

The sound of birds chirping outside his window woke Ron up, annoying the hell out of him as he grumbled under his breath as he pushed his blanket off of himself. Ron rubbed his eyes tiredly and pulled his bed hangings back, looking at the full boy's dorm, apart from Harry. Ron did a double take and looked back at Harry's bed, where the curtains where drawn back and the bed was made. Ron glanced at the clock Harry always kept on his nightstand, finding it was only a little after six in the morning. Harry never returned back to the dorm after dinner last night, and Ron was worried. Harry was already acting strange, but Ron knew in his gut something was very wrong. Getting up off his bed Ron made for his trunk, pulling out a pair of Muggle jeans and a red sweater along with his school robes, Ron dressed hastily and made his way down to the Common Room.

Ron smiled as he walked towards the fireplace, finding Hermione curled up on one of the chairs with a blanket thrown over her and a thick book laying on the ground beside her. He walked over towards her and gently shook her shoulder, watching her stir and felt her hand try to swat him away. As she opened her eyes Hermione jumped a little at the sight of Ron, blushing as she tried to get her hair out of her face.

"Wha's wrong?" Hermione asked through a yawn, covering her mouth.

"This is the second time you've fallen asleep in the Common Room." Ron said with an amused smile.

"I've been studying for a Arithmancy test that's tomorrow." Hermione replied, hauling herself off the chair.

Ron couldn't help but laugh at her disheveled appearance, that looked so different from the prim and proper Hermione that could tame everything but her head of curls. Hermione threw a mock glare in his direction as she grabbed her book of the ground and stuffed it back in her bag.

"I don't get why you study so hard. You always pay attention in class and take notes, plus you can recite anything you've ever read. Why go over it if you already know it?" Ron questioned, sitting down on the couch.

"Because I could of easily missed something important, and I don't always pay attention in my classes or take notes!" Hermione said, as if defending herself.

"Hey, I never said it was a bad thing." Ron said carefully.

Hermione sighed, grabbing all her hair in her hand and using a hair tie she had around her wrist to pull her hair into a ponytail.

"Sorry for snapping, I've just been moody lately." Hermione said, looking away from Ron as she searched for something in her bag.

"Everything okay?" Ron asked.

"I-It's girl stuff Ron, you wouldn't understand. Plus I'm worried about Harry." She added, a small blush creeping on her cheeks.

Ron ignored the first part she said, not wanting to hear anymore about it for obvious reasons, and nodded his head.

"I'm worried about him too, he never came back from dinner last night." Ron told her, staring out the window, watching as the first few snowflakes of the year flurry around in the wind.

"He didn't?! Why didn't you mention it before?" Hermione asked in shock, her head snapping towards Ron.

"I mean I'm still worried, but I figured that he might of fell asleep in the library since he's spending all his damn time there now." Ron said bitterly.

Hermione came over and sat next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"I know you're mad and want answers from him but so do I. I sent Sirius a letter three days ago telling him what's been going on with Harry, and hopefully he sent Harry a letter or had Tonk's talk to him since he won't come to us. But just give him a few more days, something's wrong and I don't believe it's all Harry's fault."  
Ron nodded at her words, knowing they were true, but he was still frustration with the whole situation. In a way he wanted to make up for the ass he had been to Harry during the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year when he believed Harry had entered himself. Shaking his head at the stupid mistake he had made, Ron got up off the couch.

"I should grab my bag before we go to down for breakfast, so we can head right to class." Ron muttered before he started up the stairs to the fifth year boys dormitory.

Hermione watched him go before she headed for her own dorm room, so she could quickly change into something different and that would keep her warm, since the first day of December brought the first snowfall of the year. Putting on a light blue sweater and jeans along with her black school robes Hermione took her hair out of the messy ponytail and brushed it before putting it back up, not having the time nor patience to do anything else do it. Hermione walked back down the stairs and found Ron waiting for her, and heard the door behind him close.

"Professor Dumbledore wants us to meet him in his office." Ron told her, clutching a piece of paper in his hand.

Looking up in alarm she saw the worry clear as crystal on Ron's face.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Hermione asked.

"It's Harry."

* * *

A loud crash somewhere behind the couch he was sleeping on was what woke Harry up, and he jerked up, making the blanket fly off him, and reached for the wand still in his pocket.

"Relax Harry! It's just me!" Sirius said, holding his hands up as he saw Harry's wand pointed at him.

Harry instantly put his arm down, and put his wand on the table next to the couch and reached for his glasses. As he put them on he found Sirius picking up the few books that he must of dropped.

"Padfoot, you klutz. You're almost as bad as your cousin." A voice said that Harry recognized as Remus, who appeared in the room a moment later.

"You would know, wouldn't you Remus?" Sirius asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Remus was about to retort when he saw Harry sitting up on the couch, and offered him a warm smile as he made his way to the couch.

"Good morning Harry, or should I say good afternoon?" Remus said, glancing down at his watch.

Harry looked over the clock set on the fireplace mantel and found it was a little after eleven thirty in the morning.

"Why did you let me sleep so late?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Because you were in desperate need of it. You looked like the walking dead when you came through last night Harry." Sirius replied, sitting next to Remus.

Harry grabbed the blanket off the ground and put back on himself, finding the room chilly even with the fire going.

"You have a bit of a fever, I checked this morning to see if it was still there." Sirius said.

Harry nodded, and a moment later his stomach loudly grumbled, making the two men sitting next to him laugh.

"Kreacher!" Sirius called, and a second later the old house elf appeared in front him.

"Yes, Master?" Kreacher asked, a sour look on his face.

"Would you make Harry a light lunch?" Sirius asked.

"Please," Remus added for him.

Kreacher muttered under his breath low enough that Harry couldn't hear, but a moment later the old elf disappeared with a snap of his fingers.

"What about school?" Harry asked, "My classes for today?"

"Merlin, you were out like a light last night," Sirius said with a chuckle, "I talked to Dumbledore and he said that you were excused from all your classes today. And speaking of him, Albus said he would come over and explain an idea he had to block Voldemort out of your mind."

Harry felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of Voldemort invading his mind. And flinched away when Remus put an arm around his shoulder, quickly picking up on Harry's distress.

"It's okay cub, we'll fix this. Dumbledore has a brilliant idea that's complicated for us to explain without getting something mixed up." Remus reassured him.

Harry nodded and looked down at his hands.

"We informed both Ron and Hermione this morning of what's been going on." Remus added.

"What?" Harry yelped in shock, quickly getting to his feet. "Why would you tell them?" He asked in outrage.

Both Sirius and Remus got to their feet and looked at Harry, noticing his hands clenching into fists at his side as he tried to control his anger.

"Harry sit back down, you need to calm down," When Harry didn't move Sirius continued, "We needed to tell them because they were the ones that noticed what was going on with you first and told us. We need them to tell us how exactly you were acting so we know for sure that it was Voldemort influencing your behavior."

At the mention of Voldemort influencing him Harry desperately tried to get a grip on his emotions, but found he couldn't fully control them. Seeing the flicker of panic on Harry's face before it turned back into anger Remus hurried towards Harry, not caring at what Harry might do, and pulled him into a tight hug, feeling Harry try to push him away.

"Just focus on my voice Harry. You need to try to calm down. I know it's hard because Voldemort probably knows what is going on and is trying to get full control of you, but you need to keep fighting. Not for just you, but for me, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, everyone that loves you." Remus whispered in his ear, feeling Harry's rapidly beating heart against his chest.

Harry's face screwed up into a look of concentration as he fought with Voldemort internally for control of his emotions, frustration building inside him as tried pushing Voldemort back, Voldemort's emotion mixing with his own. Sirius and Remus watched in fascination as Harry fought mentally with Voldemort for the next few minutes, before Harry's face relax and he took a deep breath. Remus let go of him and checked over him for a moment, finding only that Harry's fever went up a degree.

"Sit down, Kreacher'll have your lunch in a moment." Sirius told him, sitting next to him on the couch and gripping Harry's shoulder tightly.

Harry relaxed against the couch and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

"Voldemort's fight weakened when Remus touched me, that's why I tried to push you back, or he did I should say." Harry informed them in a quite voice.

"Voldemort hates any type of love. Emotionally, physical, mental. It would be enough to weaken his hold on you. We just need Albus to get this started today, Voldemort figured out what's going on and will try to fight it." Remus said, running a scarred hand through his graying hair.

Kreacher then Apparated right in front of the coffee table and set sown a plate full of sandwiches and a few glasses of pumpkin juice before he snapped his fingers and left in a hurry. Harry gingerly took a sandwich and nibbled on the sides as Remus and Sirius continued talking, zoning out as he lost himself in his thoughts.

"Harry?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked up at him and placed his barely eaten sandwich back on the plate. "Yeah?"

"We only told Ron and Hermione because they were ones that noticed first and can help. We didn't tell anyone else, not without your permission." Sirius told him.

Harry was taken aback for a moment, no one had ever really asked him for permission before. "I'd rather wait and see how Ron and Hermione act before we tell anyone else." Harry answered.

"We had Ron gather some clothes for you and had them sent here for you whenever your ready to shower and change, because Ron and Hermione will be coming over after lunch." Sirius informed him.

Harry glanced over at the clock again and found it was a few minutes to twelve, "Why didn't you tell me before?" Harry asked, getting off the couch and heading towards his backpack that was placed near the fireplace.

"We had other things to deal with." Sirius answered.

Harry quickly gathered his clothes out of the backpack and hurried up the stairs to the second story where the closest shower was and hoped in, only cleaning his hair and not bothering to shave, and stepped out five minutes later, drying himself off. As he shook a towel through his hair he heard a 'thump' and Ron swear, and Harry quickly dressed in a green sweater and old jeans while he put a comb through his hair. Harry walked over to the mirror and studied his face carefully, noting that the shadows under his eyes hadn't fully disappeared and he was pale, only his green eyes having any real color.

"Here goes nothing." Harry muttered under his breath before he opened the door and walked out.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and stumbled as she made her way out, and to her surprise caught at the last second by Remus who had been waiting by the fireplace for them.

"Thank you Professor Lupin." Hermione said, brushing herself off.

"I'm no longer your Professor, Hermione. You can call my Remus." Remus said with a warm smile.

Before Hermione could answer Ron came tumbling out of the fireplace, and before anyone of them could put their hand out for him he landed on his knees on the ground at Hermione's feet.

"Bloody hell!" Ron said loudly, allowing a giggling Hermione to help him to his feet.

As Ron brushed of the soot clinging to his sweater, Remus led them both the couch where sandwiches and glasses of pumpkin juice sat on the coffee table.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked, taking a glass of pumpkin juice off the table and taking a sip of it.

"Harry went to take a quick shower, and Sirius went to change his clothes he's been wearing since yesterday. He refused to leave Harry last night after everything Harry told him." Remus explained.

Before Hermione could push the subject more Sirius walked into the room with a huge grin on his face as he spotted Ron and Hermione.

"Hey you lot! I've missed you!" He said as he came over and hugged Hermione and shook Ron's hand, "It's been boring without any of you kids here."

"Trust me Sirius, I'd rather be here then Hogwarts." Ron muttered.

"C'mon Ron, school isn't that bad!" Hermione argued.

Sirius laughed and looked over at Remus, who was shaking his head with as amused look on his face, "Let me guess, all your teachers are on your backs about OWL's?"

The groan from Ron was enough to answer, but Hermione nodded and said, "It's not that bad, just a little more homework and lectures."

"Easy for you to say, you get school easily, not everyone is as lucky as you." Ron said, not noticing the way Hermione's eyes brightened at the compliment.

"Yeah, me and Ron wouldn't make it if it wasn't for the notes and memory you have." Harry said, leaning against the wall behind them.

Everyone watched as Harry made his way over to where Ron and Hermione sat, a hesitant look on his face as he watched his best friends for any signs of anger or bitterness, but all he received were black looks from them. In the end Harry decided to sit in the chair on the side of couch where Sirius was standing by. Harry looked up as silence continued, looking uncomfortable as Ron and Hermione watched him closely.

"Are you okay?" Hermione finally asked, her voice full of concern and worry.

"Yeah," Harry answered after a moment of thinking, "I'm okay."

"What happened? All Dumbledore told us was you told Sirius everything and Voldemort was involved, he just didn't say how. What did that bastard do to you?" Ron asked, his voice rising.

No one in the room scolded Ron for his use of language, but watched as Harry contemplated what he wanted to tell them. After a moment Harry launched into his story telling them everything that he had told Sirius last night and what had happened to him before they had arrived with Sirius added in things that he hadn't, which surprisingly didn't bother Harry. Ron and Hermione sat there stunned, trying to process what they had learned, but what got Harry's attention was Remus, who did not seemed shocked by anything Harry had just told him, but figured Sirius must of told him whenever he had arrived.

"Why didn't you tell anyone before?" Ron asked, his voice soft and quiet.

"I didn't want to bother anyone with it, I figured it was my problem and I could fix it." Harry responded, looking down at his hands, "I'm used to handling things on my own, I figured this was no different."

Hermione got off the couch and hugged Harry, gripping his back tightly as she held him to her, letting him soak in the comfort she was giving him. Ron just stared at him, then looked over to Sirius who shook his head, telling Ron not to yell at Harry for his stupidity. When Hermione finally let go of Harry she went back onto the couch with Ron, looking at Harry with sad eyes, and Harry sighed.

"This is why I didn't want to tell anyone. I hate the pitying looks I get the being yelled at for not knowing what to do. I'd rather just fix it myself and have it over with."

"We're not hear to yell at you Harry," Ron said. "We're here to help. I don't care if Voldemort plants these stupid ideas in your head that we're all goanna die and leave you, Hermione and I are staying with you through all this, whether you like it or not."

"Don't forget Remus and I," Sirius spoke up, "I'm your godfather and Remus is as good as your godmother, shut up Remus I'm making a point," He added as Remus opened his mouth to retort, "And we're as involved in this war as you are. We're with you and nothing will change that, not even Voldemort trying to use you to get rid of us."

Harry nodded, feeling exhausted from everything that had happened and what he had told them; it felt like he was reliving everything he had said.

"I'm sorry for not speaking up." Harry said tiredly.

Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed it, while Remus just nodded with a small smile on his face. "Just please speak up next time, you never know how bad the situation could be."

"Yeah, you git." Ron added with a grin, letting Harry know he was joking.

Harry laughed as Hermione drove her elbow into Ron's ribs, telling Ron off for being insensitive. Sirius and Remus shared amused looks as Ron let Hermione scold him for Harry's sake, bringing back some normality back into his life. When Harry yawned Hermione brought up the subject of OWL's with Remus much to Ron's horror, knowing that Harry was tired from today and needed sleep, so left him to rest as she talked with Remus. Sirius then challenged Ron to a game of chess, both of them going to other side of the room where Sirius had a table set up with the chess board and pieces. A half hour later when Hermione looked over at Harry, she found his eyes closed with a small grin on his face, and found a blanket on the couch to put over him, and bent down to kiss his cheek.

"Sweet dreams." She whispered, before she went back onto the other couch with Remus.

* * *

**A/N: I'm shocked at how fast I got this chapter done, but I had a lot of free time these past two days! And by the way, Hermione is acting like a concerned sister, Harry nor her have any romantic feeling towards each other. I just wanted to make that clear, this is a Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione story.**


	23. Chapter 23: Nightmares

Harry entered the Common Room minutes before curfew, his breath coming out in little gasps since he ran the last slight of stairs and down the hallway to make it time, the last thing he wanted was to come back from Christmas vacation to a detention with Snape. Shuddering at the thought, Harry walked over to the boys dormitory and slowly walked up the stairs. During the past two weeks after the revelation that Voldemort could influence Harry, Dumbledore suggested that Harry learn Occulemency (A learned skill used to block the mind from intruders) from Tonks, hoping that the mind skill would be enough to overpower Voldemort's influence. But it was easier said than done. Harry still couldn't wipe his mind of all thoughts and emotions before Tonks used a spell on him to see into his mind, allowing her access to memories he would of loved to bury, and always ended up falling on his ass, the only way he had been able to break free of her spell.

So after a few lessons of a hurt bum and pride, Harry had little progress, but could push Tonks out after a few memories played out, but only because he was angered enough to do so. Before he left every lesson he was reminded to 'clear his mind before going to bed.' Shaking his head at the ridiculous request, Harry entered his dorm room and set his school bag by his nightstand, quickly pulling off his jumper along with the rest of his clothes and switched them for a pair of loose fitting jogging pants and a plain white t-shirt. Harry sat on the edge of his bed and dug through his school bag, searching for the book Dumbledore had given him on Occulemency, and jerked his head up as the door opened. Ron walked in wearing his school robes and had a look of surprise as he saw Harry, before smiling sheepishly and walking towards him.

"I didn't expect you to be back yet, Tonks usually keeps you an hour past curfew." Ron admitted, throwing his bag onto his own bed.

Harry placed his book on his nightstand and looked at Ron, "She decided to let me go early today so I could pack up the rest of my stuff before we leave tomorrow." Harry replied, leaning his back against the bedframe.

"So I'm guessing you didn't tell her you've been packed since yesterday?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hell no, I seized the opportunity she gave me. I'm so damn tired." Harry said with a grimace.

Ron got off the bed and made his way for his own, pulling his sweater off as he did, "Well then, don't let me keep you up."

Harry muttered a goodnight to Ron before he grabbed the curtains surrounding his bed and jerked them together, and then pulled the covers back on his bed and slipped under them, the cool sheets brushing against his heated skin, before pulling the covers over his legs and his waist. Harry turned his head and blew out the candle on his nightstand, adjusting himself on the bed and heard the door to the room open again, hearing the voices of his other roommates. Harry slowly drifted off to sleep as he heard his roommates getting dressed and ready for bed, his mind relaxing and allowing him to fall into a peaceful sleep, for a while at least.

* * *

At around one thirty in the morning Harry let out a loud gasp as he sat straight up in his bed, his hand clutching his burning scar with beads of sweat covering his pale face, nausea threatening to hit at any wrong movement he made. Suddenly Harry felt his bed curtains open, his blurry eyes making out the images of his other roommates as they hurried over to him. Harry felt bile rise in his throat and moved his head over the bed side just in time for him to throw up on the dormitory ground, hearing someone jerk away from him as he did.

"Someone go get McGonagall! He's really ill!" Harry vaguely heard someone say, in addition to the sound of hurried footsteps leaving the room.

Harry flinched as someone put their hand on his back, awkwardly rubbing circles as they tried to soothe him. Realizing how much time he had already wasted, Harry wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt and took a gasp of breath, his scar giving another pulse of pain as he did.

"Ron-" Harry whispered weakly.

"I'm right here, mate. Let's get into the bathroom and clean you up." Ron said right next to him, placing his arms under Harry's armpits and helped him off the bed.

"Ron, we need to get help, your-"

"It was just a dream, don't worry over it."

Ron led Harry over to the toilet and made him sit down, grabbing a wash cloth from under the sink and running it under the faucet for a moment before bringing it to Harry's face, wiping the sweat off his forehead and hoped to cool his very red scar down.

"It wasn't a dream, it was real." Harry tried to explain, his breathing coming out in little gasps.  
"McGonagall's on her way, she's know what to-"

"Listen to me!" Harry interrupted with a hoarse yell, "It was real, your dad's really hurt! I - The snake..."

Ron paused at the mention of his father, his face loosing any colour it held at Harry's words, before shaking his head numbly, "I-It can't be true, it's just a stupid dream." Ron muttered, mostly to himself.

"What's going on Potter?" A voice asked from the bathroom doorway, and Harry looked up to find McGonagall standing there with a worried look on her face.

"Mr. Weasley was attacked! I saw him, he - he's not in good shape, you have to send help!" Harry pleaded, more sweat pouring down his face.

McGonagall stared at Harry in pure shock before she came to her senses, "We need to make a visit to the Headmasters office. Mr. Weasley, you might as well come along and help Harry, if what he say's is true.." McGonagall let the sentence hang.

Ron shakily helped Harry off the toilet seat and gripped Harry by the waist, letting Harry grip in shoulder to support the weight he couldn't, and together all three of them made their way down the dormitory and into the Common Room, continuing through the castle until they stopped in front of the gargoyles in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Whizbee." McGonagall spoke the password, and the gargoyles allowed them access to the office ahead.

Harry leaned heavily on Ron as they hurried up the steps, following McGonagall until they reached the door, where she knocked three times, and Harry heard the voices behind the door cease immediately, and a moment later the door opened. Looking around Harry found all the portraits of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses all feigning sleep, some letting out obviously fake snores. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with Fawkes perched on his shoulder, his old hand raised as he stroked the phoenix's feathers.

"Professor McGonagall, what is the matter -" He stopped as he spotted Harry and Ron in the back, his eyes widen at Harry's condition.

McGonagall told Dumbledore the problem as Ron lead Harry over to the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, allowing Harry to relax and Ron to gather his breath.

"...his nightmare -" McGonagall was saying.

"It wasn't a nightmare Professor, it was real, I just know it! Mr. Weasley was somewhere in the Ministry and a snake attacked him, I think it was Voldemort's snake Nagini, she's poisonous sir, we need to get help!" Harry yelled with panic evident in his voice.

Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes for a moment, as if searching Harry's eyes for any evidence, before he nodded.

"I believe you." Dumbledore said, and then turned to turned to a portrait close to him, "Edward! And you too, Dily's!"

Harry blocked out their conversation as he turned to look at Ron, who was white-face with shock and horror, numbly staring at Dumbledore's desk. Harry didn't know what to say to Ron, how to comfort him, or if Ron would want him to comfort him.

"How serious are his injuries Harry?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.

Harry glanced at Ron before answering. "Very."

Dumbledore accepted the one worded answer before turning to McGonagall and ordering her to gather the rest of the Weasleys, and sending Fawkes off to deliver a message to Mrs Weasley to inform her of her husbands condition. Leaving Harry, Ron and Dumbledore in the office, Dumbledore conjured another chair next to Harry for Ron and Harry helped guide Ron into the chair, who continued staring off into space, and Harry looked towards Dumbledore.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

"I sent Dily's to her portrait in the Department of Mysteries to yell for help, she should be here any moment -"

Dily's then entered her portrait, telling them that help had come and Mr. Weasley was on his way to St. Mungo's, not in the best condition. Harry noticed that Ron let out a breath of relief, grateful that his father was getting help and was, most importantly, _alive_. Leaving his desk Dumbledore went to another portrait where the man inside pretended to be asleep, even as Dumbledore called for him several times before he opened his eyes, letting out a forced yawn. Dumbledore then told him to go to his portrait at Grimmauld Place and tell Sirius to expect Harry and the Weasley children a day early, much to Harry's surprise and Phineas' annoyance. Just then the door to Dumbledore's office opened, revealing McGonagall, Fred, George, and Ginny, who all looked as pale as Ron, worried, and scared. They knew.

"Dad's alive, he's at St. Mungo's." Ron told them in a toneless voice.

* * *

Harry woke with a start, his stomach rolling as bile rose in his throat. Harry jumped off the bed he was laying in and ran to the attached bathroom, barely opening the toilet lid and kneeling before he heaved the food Sirius convinced him to eat last night into the toilet, leaving Harry breathless and sweaty. After he was done Harry flushed the toilet and brushed his teeth, getting rid of the acidic taste in his mouth, and put a bathrobe on. Opening the door that led into the hallway Harry shivered as the cold December morning air hit his flushed skin, and tightened the robe around him as he could down the hallway and down the stairs until he reached the main floor. He could pick up faint voices from the living room and moved down the hall until he reached the doorway, hesitating as he heard Mrs. Weasley talking, but continued in. Harry found Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Mad Eye, Tonks, Bill and the rest of the Weasley's talking in the living room, and was about to back out of the room when Bill spotted him.

"Harry! It's good to see you." Bill said with a smile, and came over to clap Harry on the shoulder.

"Hey Bill. How're you?" Harry asked, forcing a smile on his face.

"Eh, okay. Just got back from seeing dad." Bill answered.

Harry nodded, "How is he?" He asked worriedly.

Mrs. Weasley quickly finished her conversation with Remus and hurried over to Harry, pulling him to her and giving him a tight embrace. Harry looked over her shoulder to Bill, who was smirking at him and mouthed the word 'better' before he walked over to Mad Eye. Mrs. Weasley then let go of Harry and held him at arms length, her eyes roaming over his body.

"You look a bit peaky dear, did you sleep well?" She asked, her eyes suspiciously bright.

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, " Harry lied, "What's going on?" He asked, looking towards Mad Eye and Bill.

Mrs. Weasley followed his eyes and smiled, "Dumbledore called for an Order meeting in an hour. Mad Eye and Tonks showed up early to check the wards on the house, and Bill got time off from work for the holidays. Excuse me, dear, I need to check on breakfast."

Harry nodded and looked over to Remus, who looked up from his conversation with Tonks and caught Harry's eyes on him, and gave a bright smile until Tonks said something that made the werewolf blush and cast his eyes to the ground. Tonks turned her head towards Harry, a small laugh escaping her mouth and winked at Harry. Harry shook his head at her as he struggled to hid his amusement, and went over to the couch to sit down, The only spot left was inebriate Ginny and Ron, and Harry felt his heart stutter as he looked at Ginny, who still managed to look beautiful even though her face was still pale and tired.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Harry asked.

Ginny looked up and nodded, a small smile on her face, while Ron nodded his head. Harry sat down, feeling a little insecure.

"Do you know where Sirius is?" Harry asked quietly.

"He left with Dumbledore a few minutes before you came down, but I don't know where they went." Ginny replied, turning her head to look at him, and frowned, "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

Harry laughed, "Thanks for pointing that out," Ginny playfully poke him, "Oi, keep your hands to yourself. And to answer your question I'm fine, just feel a bit weird."

Harry felt his mood increase as he talked with Ginny, finding that she could make him feel giddy and playful no matter what.

"Breakfast is ready!" Mrs. Weasley called.

The Weasleys, Remus, Tonks, and Mad Eye got up from where they were and walked into the kitchen, and Harry was surprised when he felt Ginny stay in her spot next to him.

"Not hungry?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not really."

"I'm surprised, I never thought I'd seen the day a Weasley wouldn't want food."

Ginny smacked his arm quite hard, not meaning too, but Harry felt his skin tingle as it turned red.

"Jeez! What's with red heads and their tempers!" Harry asked teasingly, rubbing his arm.

"You had that coming Potter." Ginny replied with a smirk.

"Maybe." Harry said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Harry watched as Ginny looked towards the door that led to the dinning room, and then looked down at her nails, picking at the blue nail polish on them.

"I think Remus and Tonks fancy each other." Ginny blurted out suddenly.

Harry turned his head towards her, a confused look on his face, "Excuse me?"

"C'mon! Am I the one that see's it? The way they look at each other, the way they act when their together, they look for any excuse to touch! It's obvious they fancy each other." Ginny explained.

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably. He never really wanted to know about Remus' love life, or Sirius' for that matter. Harry cringed at the mental image that popped inside his head.

"Ugh, he's like an uncle to me Gin, don't put that image inside my innocent head." Harry told her.

"What? It's not like I said they were shagging or anything." Ginny said nonchalantly.

"Ginny!" Harry said, putting his hands over his ears, "That's enough."

Ginny laughed and pulled his hands off of his ears, and took a moment to catch her breath.

"Have you ever wondered about his love life?" She asked.

"No, for your information, I haven't. I'm a bloke, why would I care about that?" Harry asked incredulously.

"So blokes don't care about each others love lives?" Ginny asked.

"No, not really." Harry responded, suddenly feeling nervous.

Why was she asking about love life's? Was she interested in his? Harry rubbed his clammy palms against his pajama bottoms, hiding the panic he felt inside off of his face.

"Thanks for helping me get my mind off dad, Harry. Before you came in that's all I was thinking about, but you helped me get my mind off him. You always find some way to make me laugh." Ginny said, dropping the previous subject.

"Glad to help." Harry said, smiling back at her, "I'm here if you ever need me."

"Thanks." Ginny replied, and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

Ginny then got up and left the door, leaving Harry on the couch with a blush covering his cheek and a slight dazed look on his face. That's how Sirius found him when he walked in, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"I know that look," Sirius said, startling Harry, "Your father got that look overtime he was with Lily."

Harry blushed even more, making Sirius laugh as he walked over to join Harry on the couch.

"I have a good idea on who you fancy." Sirius mocked, poking Harry on the arm.

"Shut up." Harry muttered, averting his eyes.

"You fancy Ginny." Sirius said, a little too loud.

Harry clamped his hand over Sirius' mouth and looked around with wide eyes, making sure no one was around. "Be quiet!" Harry hissed.

Sirius moved Harry's hand away from his mouth and laughed, clapping Harry on the shoulder.

"So I gather she doesn't know? You Potter's and your red heads." Sirius said, shaking his head.

"I don't know if she knows, sometimes she acts like she fancies me too, but I don't know." Harry explained sheepishly.

"What'd you mean?" Sirius asked.

Harry explained the little things Ginny did around him sometimes, blushing slightly as he did, and was shocked when Sirius' started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked, getting angry.

"You both are so oblivious, you fancy each other but won't tell each other." Sirius explained, still chuckling.

"How do you know?" Harry asked, feeling hope rise inside him.

"No girls acts like that to a guy friend. Do you see her kissing anyone else's cheek or hugging them for the hell of it?" Sirius asked.

"No, but sometimes I see Hermione act like that around Ron-" Harry stopped there.

_Bloody hell he was dim sometimes._

Sirius started laughing as he saw the pieces click together inside his godson's head, and the dumbfounded look on his face.

"I'll give you a mo', but you might want to get dressed, we're leaving in about half an hour to visit Arthur." Sirius told him, getting off the couch.

Harry felt himself pale at the mention of Mr. Weasley, driving all thoughts of Ginny out of his mind.  
"How is he? Have you seen him?" Harry asked.

"He's doing better than last night. The only problem is that they don't know what kind of snake attacked him, so they don't know what antidote to give him. But no I haven't seen him, I don't believe the hospital would react positively to seeing Sirius Black walking in."

"Sorry, I forgot." Harry muttered.

Sirius offered him a smile, "Don't worry, I'll just have to wait until he gets out of their. I'll be in an Order meeting while you all go to St. Mungos, so tell Arthur I hope he gets home soon, I can't deal with all these red heads alone."

Harry chuckled, and got off the couch and hugged Sirius, who was shocked for a moment before he hugged Harry back.

"I need to talk to you and Dumbledore when we get back about the dream last night, it might help." Harry whispered, and then let go.

Sirius nodded, and then push Harry towards the doorway.

"Hurry up, they won't wait all day for you."

Harry raised his hand and gave a small wave before he hurried upstairs, changing into day clothes, thinking about what he was going to tell Dumbledore later, somewhat dreading it.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if it seems like I ignored the snake incident, it was too hard to write without copying the book, and I wanted to add some humor and some Harry/Ginny fluff.**

**P.S - I know I've never recommended a story before, but I've been reading this Fem!Harry story called 'Looking Beyond' by shinigamigirl196, and I love it! If you have any recommendations for stories to read please leave a review, I'm looking for more material to read!**


	24. Chapter 24: A First Time For Everything

Harry tossed the blanket off of himself, finding it uncomfortably warm in the room and sighed. Apart from the unusual heat, his thoughts kept Harry awake. All he could think about was seeing Mr. Weasley laying in the hospital bed, drained and tired, but still smiling at his family and thanking Harry for saving him, making guilt flare inside him. Dumbledore had told him that Mr. Weasley was guarding that damn Prophesy when Nagini attacked him, and it took Harry several moments to control his anger. The meeting with Dumbledore left Harry more confused than before, which fustrated Harry. But one good thing came out of the meeting; they knew now that when the visions that Voldemort sent him were real that Harry was violently sick, as if his body was screaming that they were real. Before the meeting ended though, Dumbledore mentioned that he might of found the next Horcrux, and he was leaving during the hols to retrieve it.

Harry then decided to give the idea of sleeping, squinting at the watch on his wrist which showed it was just past two in the morning, Harry stood up and shrugged his t-shirt back on, feeling it stick to his back slightly, and made his way downstairs. He walked all the way downstairs to the basement, wanting a glass of water in the hopes that it would cool him down somewhat, and paused when he saw the lights already on in the room. Peaking around the doorway he saw Mrs. Weasley and Ginny sitting at the counter, a plate of cookies and glasses of milk in front of them, quietly talking to one another. Harry shyly walked into the room, clearly his throat to announce his presence. Ginny turned her head in alarm, but relaxed when she saw who it was, and smiled tiredly at him, while Mrs. Weasley sat up straighter and smiled widely.

"Hello dear, couldn't fall asleep either?" Mrs. Weasley asked, gesturing for him to join them.

Harry hesitated for a moment before he started walking, and was about to take the seat next to her when she stopped him, and stood up from her seat and offered it to him, which he took gladly. Mrs. Weasley then went towards the fridge and poured him a glass of milk, winking towards her daughter when Harry looked down towards the floor, and watched as Ginny fought the urge to blush.

"What are you still doing up?" Harry asked her, crossing his arms on the counter.

"I can't stop thinking." Ginny replied vaguely.

Mrs. Weasley placed Harry's glass in front of him and he thanked her, taking the glass and tracing his finger on the rim. Ginny went to ask something when Tonks peaked in by the doorway like Harry had.

"Molly, Mad-Eye here to finish that talk earlier in the hospital about-"

"I'm coming. Goodnight dears." Mrs. Weasley said rather quickly, and hurried to join Tonks.

Harry and Ginny shared a look as Mrs. Weasley left, and shook their heads.

"So, why couldn't you sleep?" Ginny asked, taking a sip from her glass.

"Same as you, my thoughts. I just can't stop thinking about the last two days." Harry answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders.

Ginny nodded sympathetically, "I can only imagine, it was hard enough being possessed by him, seeing what he does must be ten times worse."

"It wasn't even through him, it was through the snake. That's why I feel so guilty, it felt like I was the one that hurt your dad."

Harry sent his chin on his crossed arms and huffed, looking straight ahead.

"You know that what happened was not your fault, Harry, you have to know that. I blame Voldemort, and I will continue to blame Voldemort for anything else that happens." Ginny told him, placing her hand on his arm and squeezing gently.

Harry felt his heart rate increase at her touch, and Sirius words echoed inside his head, making him suddenly nervous.

"I know that I didn't hurt him, but it just feels like it, because I saw it through the snakes point of view." Harry responded.

"Have you told Ron about it?" Ginny asked.

Harry sighed, "No, he's been quiet all day and I figured I'd give him time to get over the shock of what happened."

"I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me."

Harry smiled, turning his head in his arms to look at her, "Me too."

Ginny sighed and leaned closer to him until her head was resting on his shoulder and hugged his arm in both of hers, and Harry leaned into her. Silence fell between them but it was comfortable, both soaking in the comfort that the embrace gave them. Ginny shifted and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, making her ginger hair fall into Harry's face, making him chuckle as he moved to push her hair behind her ear before any of it found its way into his mouth. Harry turned his head to gauge her reaction, and found her face inches from his, her brown eyes staring into his green ones. His eyes flickered down to her lips then back to her eyes, and without thinking connected their lips. Harry felt her gasp a little before she kissed him back, and he moved so he could wrap his arms around her, feeling her hands slip into his messy locks. Harry reluctantly pulled away to catch his breath, already missing her soft lips on his, and shyly opened his eyes to look at her.

Harry smirked as he watched her take in a deep breath, her cheeks flushed with pleasure and her lips slightly swollen. She opened her eyes and looked at him, a large smile growing on her swollen lips as she took in his messier than usual hair and the unusual brightness in his eyes.

Not too bad Mr. Potter." Ginny said after they both caught their breath, and smirked when he blushed.

"Not too shabby yourself Ms. Weasley." Harry replied cheekily.

"You know, I might have to tell Michael about this," Ginny laughed as panic grew on Harry's face, "I'm joking, don't get your wand in a knot. We broke up months ago, I figured you forgot about it."

Harry laughed, feeling slightly stupid, remembering when Ginny briefly mentioned it on the train.

"Yeah well, I don't like to think about others guys that you've dated, I only think about future relationships." Harry blushed a little more.

Ginny smiled, her own blush staining her cheeks, "Oh really? And why would you be thinking about that?"

"Because I'd like to be your boyfriend." Harry told her, mentally slapping himself at how stupid it sounded.  
"I'd like that." Ginny replied after a second.

Ginny leaned in to Harry, and was inches away from his lips when she felt a yawn coming, and quickly turned her head the other way, making Harry laugh as he watched her.

"It's late, we should probably get back to our rooms." Harry said, watching her yawn once again.

Harry stood up from his chair as Ginny did the same, and shyly took her hand in his, smiling as she intertwined their fingers. Together they walked up the flight of stairs until they reached the second floor, thankfully no adults around to see them. They paused on the landing and squeezed hands before pulling away, and Harry leaned in and pecked her on the lips gently, smiling as she tried to make the kiss longer.

"Night Ginny."

"Goodnight Harry."

* * *

Harry woke up that morning a little later than he usually did, mostly because he stayed up late last night, and a smile crossed Harry's features. He had kissed Ginny. _Finally!_ Unable to wipe the grin off of his face Harry got up and quickly washed up in the bathroom before he changed into a pair on dark jeans and the sweater Mrs. Weasley gave him for Christmas last year that surprisingly still fit, and walked down the stairs. Entering the main hallway Harry listened to find out where the voices he could faintly hear were coming from, and followed the path that led to the dining room that was hardly used, and stopped dead. The voices inside were arguing and sounded older than what he was looking for, and pressed his ear against the shut door, surprised there wasn't a charm on the door to keep him from listening.

"- if Arthur hadn't been there that beast would of had more time to look around. So Potter said he saw it happen?" Mad Eye was saying.

"Yes," said Sirius uneasy, "It's almost as if Dumbledore had been waiting for this to happen. I know he told Harry before school started that Voldemort might try something through the connection, but he wasn't exactly sure what that bastard would try. First the thoughts and emotions he was planting inside Harry and now this!"

"Well, there's something about Potter, we can all see it."

"Be careful Moody, that's my godson you're talking about."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when he told us." Mrs. Weasley put in, sounding worried herself.

"We're all worried Molly," Moody said with a growl, "It's one thing for Voldemort to plant visions inside his head, but to see what his snake was doing! I don't know if Potter realizes what it mean, but if Voldemort was possessing him-"

Harry felt a gasp of surprise leave his mouth, and raised his hand over his mouth to muffle it, but it was too late. Harry heard silence ring through the dining room, and after a moment footsteps start towards the door. Harry bolted away from the door and down the hallway, not seeing Remus and Sirius barely turn the corner and catch a glimpse of him before he rounded the next corner and bolted up the stairs and into his room.  
Remus sighed and ran his hand down his scarred face, while Sirius turned around and stormed back into the dining room, glaring daggers at Moody.

"Look what you did! Harry thinks that Voldemort is possessing him!" Sirius yelled angrily, walking up to the Ex-Auror and poking him in the chest.

"It's not my fault he heard me. Who was supposed to put up the charms so that things like this wouldn't happen?!" Moody shouted, both his eyes scanning everyone in the room.

But the damage was done. Harry ran past Fred as he was walking towards the stairs, not even hearing Fred behind him who was asking what was wrong, but opened his door and slammed it in the gingers face. Fred blinked in surprise as he looked at the closed door, shocked by Harry's unusual behavior. After a moment Fred knocked on the door.

"Harry?" He asked uncertainly, "What's wrong?"

There was no reply. Fred pressed his ear against the door to try to hear anything from Harry, and could barely hear Harry's fast breathing. Looking helpless, Fred looked towards the stairs and saw George, Ron and Ginny walking up, laughing at something that George was imitating. Fred met them on the landing, and the three instantly knew something was wrong by the rare serious look Fred had on his face.

"What happened? It's not dad is it?" George asked his twin, panicking etching onto his face.

"No, no, no," Fred quickly said, watching his siblings relax. "Harry's upset. I don't know what happened and didn't ask, like he would of answered anyway, but it's something big."

Ginny looked the most upset out of all of them.

"Let me try to talk to him." She said, pushing past Fred.

"Why do you think he would tell you?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Because he's been opening up to me more lately, especially after last night." Ginny added the last part with a smirk.

"What happened last night!?" George asked protectively.

"Like I said you moron, Harry and I have been getting closer. We kissed last night and he asked me out, and I said yes." Ginny said confidently.

Ginny watched in amusement as Fred and George glanced at each in shock before devilish smirks broke out on their faces, while Ron stared at her with wide eyes.

"That a girl!" George said proudly, messing up her hair.

"Wait! Wait just a mo! Harry's your boyfriend?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes. I wouldn't think you'd have a problem, as I recall last year Ronald you wanted me and Harry to go to the Yule Ball together." Ginny said, fingering the wand in her pocket.

"Yeah but as friends!" Ron spluttered.

"Well we're more than friends. Get over it. What we need to focus on now is what is bothering Harry." Ginny said, ignoring the incredulous look Ron gave her.

"I know he was on the first floor, and that's where the Order Meeting is, maybe he overheard something?" Ron said, sinking into deep thought.

"Don't be ridiculous. They always have charms on the doors, maybe Sirius told him something that upset him?" George said.

"Sirius is in the Order Meeting right now, don't be daft. He could still be upset about what happened to dad, he told me last night he thought it was his fault." Ginny put in.

"Could be, but I don't think he would get that upset over it, he was really upset, and even scared actually." Fred said, biting his lower lip.

"Let's just give him time to cool down before we asked him anything. He told us how Voldemort likes to use his temper. I say we talk to Sirius after the meeting, he might be able to get Harry to come out and talk." Ginny said, leaning against the wall behind her.

"Sounds like a plan." George said as Fred nodded, but Ron looked a little uncertain.

Ginny fixed her glare onto Ron, waiting until he gave a reluctant nod, rolling his eyes when Ginny grinned cheekily at him.

"What are you all doing here? Please don't tell me you were going to try to use that Extendable Ear falling out of your pocket, the meeting's already over." Sirius said, walking up the last few stairs with Remus behind him.

George looked down and saw the Extendable Ear that he quickly grabbed earlier so his mother couldn't grab it was hanging out of his pocket, and hastily shoved it back into his pocket.

"We've given up on trying to listen to those meeting's. Your always putting that damn charm on the door." George muttered.

Sirius sighed while Remus shook his head, "Too bad you didn't try this time, we forgot to put the charms up this time in our haste. Those that doesn't mean we'll repeat our mistake again." Sirius added when he saw the gleam of hope in the pranksters eyes.

Fred and George looked at each other and rolled their eyes, "We're masterminds in the art of pranking Sirius, we'll find another way to listen in on your silly Order meetings." Fred said with a smirk.

"You two, masterminds in the art of pranking? Please." Sirius said with a laugh, looking over his shoulder at Remus, who rolled his eyes but had a smile tugging at his lips.

"Like you could do any better." George challenged teasingly.

"I can, we have actually." Sirius responded, pointing at Remus and himself.

George looked at Fred and together they started laughing hysterically, using each other to hold themselves up.

"You're joking right?" Fred managed to ask.

"Well Padfoot, why don't you tell them?" Remus asked mischievously.

Fred and George stopped laughing instantly.

"Padfoot? Why did you say Padfoot?" They both asked, glancing at Remus and Sirius.

"Do you think these children can handle our epic stories Moony?" Sirius asked.

Remus pretended to think about it, "I think they might."

"Moony and Padfoot? You're the Marauder's!" Fred and George exclaimed eagerly.

"Who else would be smart enough to make the map?" Sirius scoffed, "By the way, thanks for returning it to Prongs son."

Ginny and Ron laughed with Remus and Sirius at the shocked looks that the twins gave.

"Harry? Harry's dad is Prongs?" Fred asked incredulously.

"I'm swooning." George said, gripping Fred's shoulder and he pretended to sway on his feet.

"Speaking of Harry," Remus said, getting to the reason why they came up, "Did you see him go into his room?"

The Weasley's shared a look, "Yeah," Fred said, "Ran right into his room about ten minutes ago. Do you know what happened?"

Sirius ignored them and went right to his old room, and knocked gently, "Harry?" He called.

"Like we said before, the charms weren't on the room during the meeting and Harry managed to catch something Mad Eye suggested." Remus explained, looking towards Sirius.

Sirius knocked again a little louder, "Harry, let me in."

"Oh Merlin, what did he hear?" Ron asked.

"Mad Eye doesn't know the whole situation about the connection between Harry and Voldemort. He suggested Harry saw what happened to your dad because Voldemort is possessing him." Remus said with a frown.

Sirius banged his fist against the door, having no intention of leaving Harry alone, "Let me in Harry James or I'll blast this door open."

"Leave me alone, I'm just tired!" Harry yelled through the door.

"That insensitive prat!" Ginny exclaimed angrily, startling the men, "Does he ever think?!"

"What'd you mean?" Ron asked hesitantly, not wanting her temper to rise.

"I know a thing or two about being possessed by him! He should of asked me instead of assuming and making himself feel worse!" Ginny explained, stomping towards Harry's door.

"Open your door right now, we need to talk, now!" Ginny shouted, not bothering to knock.

Sirius and Remus shared a glance while her brothers watched her in fascination, and a moment later the door opened.

"What is it?" Harry asked her quietly, bowing his head so his hair hid somewhat of his face.

Ginny faltered for a moment, taken back by his tone, "Look at me," She said gently, placing a finger under his chin, "You what Moody said was wrong. He isn't possessing you, trust me, you would know." Ginny said with fierceness.

Harry had the decency to look ashamed, "I'm sorry," He said with a sigh, "I wasn't thinking, but the thought of him possessing me scared the hell out of me. I could only imagine what he would make me do."

"You would of known right away, and so would we. After what happened in August we've all been keeping an eye on you, we would of noticed if you were acting strange instead of the teenage angst you've been having," Harry managed a small chuckle, "Not that Voldemort was helping. So get it out of your dim brain that your being possessed."

Harry genuinely smiled at her and nodded, a little shocked when Ginny made the bold move to hug him in front of her brothers and his godfather and honorary uncle watching. When Ginny pulled back and noticed his flushing cheeks she smiled at his embarrassment of a crowd, but still leaned in and kissed him. Harry's eyes widened a bit before he closed his eyes, giving into the kiss. When she pulled back they both had a small blush staining their cheeks, and it didn't help when Forge started clapping while Ron tried to hid his scowl, making Harry duck his head while Ginny stuck her tongue out at them.

"Well, well, well, when did this happen?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Last night." Harry replied, a smile creeping back onto his face.

Sirius and Remus shared a look.

"It's about time." They both said, "You looked like a lost puppy every time she was around you!" Sirius said to Ginny's amusement and Harry's embarrassment.

"Did not!" Harry tried to argue.

"You did mate, even I saw it." Ron said, a small smile on hi face.

Harry looked towards his best friend hesitantly, and was relieved to find no trace of anger on his face.

"Your okay with this?" Harry asked, intertwining his hand with Ginny's and holding it in front of them.

"Yeah, but understand that if you break her heart you'll have more to deal with than that damn Prophesy." Ron half joke/threatened.

Harry gave a small laugh, squeezing Ginny's hand as he did. "Deal."

* * *

A/N: They kissed! Finally! I saw the perfect opportunity for Harry and Ginny to kiss and took it, originally they were supposed to get together later in the story, but I like this way better. Anyway, I think every time I update I'll suggest a story that I've read that I like, because I've read a few amazing ones lately! And also, I'd like more suggestions on fan fics to read, I'm all out of material to read.

'The Seventh Horcrux' by Melindaleo is amazing! Go check it out!


	25. Chapter 25: Christmas

"Wake up mate, or I'll have to get Fred and George to wake you up." Ron said as he shook Harry.

At the threat Harry opened his eyes and turned his head to the side to glare at Ron, who was smirking, and grabbed his blanket and used at as a shield to cover his eyes from the early morning sun.

"Oi, none of that! It's Christmas! Wake up you lazy git." Ron said, yanking the blanket completely off of Harry.

Harry groggily rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses, setting them on the bridge of his nose and continued to glare at Ron as he sat up and slipped on his bath robe. Harry looked towards the foot of his bed and was confused when he didn't see any of his presents waiting there for him.

"Sirius and mum wanted a more traditional Christmas," Ron explained, noticing Harry's confused expression, "So all our Christmas presents are under the tree downstairs. We have to wait until everyone's awake." Ron sounded annoyed.

Harry smiled and got off his bed and walled into the hall with Ron, meeting Fred and George who both had a smug look on their faces, with Ginny and Hermione (who had arrived the day before) who both looked annoyed and were glaring at Fred and George.

"What happened?" Ron asked bluntly.

"The twins thought that putting a freezing charm on our beds was a polite way of waking us up." Ginny replied with a scowl, pulling her robe tighter around her body.

Harry walked towards Ginny and kissed her on the cheek, "Merry Christmas." He whispered as he pulled away.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Ginny responded as she linked their hands together.

Hermione looked at them with a gleeful smile while the twins shared an amused look, and Ron looked slightly disgusted as he looked away. Together all of them made their way downstairs, ignoring the elf heads with attached Santa beards and hats mantled on the wall, and walked into the living room. Inside they found Sirius and Remus sitting together talking with steaming mugs in their hands while Mrs. Weasley were waiting with Tonks sitting next to her.

"Merry Christmas!" They said together when they spotted the kids walking in, and hurried out of their seats to greet them.

Harry walked over to where the Weasleys and Hermione where sitting on the ground by the tree with an amused smile, seeing them eagerly bouncing in their spots as they waited for the adults to sit back down before they started. Harry sat next to Ginny and Hermione with Ron next to her and Fred along with George on Ginny's other side, and watched as George started handing out their presents to their owners as he was the closet one to the tree, with the adults stepping in when George got caught up with his presents to remember to keep handing the others their own. Harry waited for everyone to start opening their presents before he eagerly grabbed the first one in front of him, which happened the by Ginny's, and ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing a jewelry box.

Harry looked up with an arched eyebrow at Ginny was nervously watching him, who made a gesture with her hands for him to open the box. When he did open it, he looked down at it in shock. It was a thick silver bracelet with a lily wrapped around a pair of antlers carved into the silver.

"I found it at Gladrags the last Hogsmeade visit and thought you might like it." Ginny explained in a shy voice, misinterpreting Harry's silence.

Harry looked up from the bracelet and gave her a huge smile that lit his eyes brilliantly, "It's perfect."

Before she could say anything Harry leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips, both of them blushing at the cat calls from Forge and Sirius. After sharing an embarrassed smile Harry placed the bracelet on his wrist before they both went back to opening the rest of their presents. Harry received new Quidditch gloves from Ron, a book on defensive magic from Hermione, a new green Weasley sweater with a few candy bars from Honeydukes from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, a Skiving Snackbox from Fred and George hidden inside an old dress robe box with a new black cloak folded on top of the sweets, which made Harry look back at them in shock.

"Before you say anything, it's our way of saying thank you for the money for the joke shop." George told him quietly, leaning across Ginny as he pretended to inspect a necklace of Ginny's that Harry had given her.

Harry rolled his eyes but couldn't hid the smirk on his face, and went back to the remainder of his presents. Sirius had given him a knife that could unlock any door and a mirror, which Sirius explained that he could communicate with Harry on, and showed Harry the matching mirror he had in his pocket. Remus and Tonks had given him a wand holster, making Harry look over at the pair with waggling eyebrows much to their utter embarrassment.

"When did this happen?" Harry asked them.

"When did what happen?" Remus asked innocently.

"And here I thought Sirius was the immature one." Harry muttered.

"Oi! I'll have you know that serious is my middle name, oh wait, it's my first." Sirius said from his spot on the couch, a smirk playing on his lips.

Harry smacked his hand to his forehead, shaking his head, "Merlin, this is gonna be a long break." He groaned.

Later that day they all went to St. Mungo's and visited Mr. Weasley before they had their Christmas dinner, running into Neville visiting his parents when they had gotten lost looking for the tea room, wanting to avoid the fight between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about medical muggle techniques. Harry was the only one in the group that wasn't shocked about the fate of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, seeing as he learned what happened to them last year when he slipped into Dumbledore's pensive. To save Neville from the embarrassment of having his friends see his parents in their state Harry led them out of the room with the excuse that it was time to go, Harry walked out of the room, briefly noticing a nurse putting a plant on the nightstand next to an older wizard that was mumbling under his breath as he stared at the ceiling.

"I always wondered what happened to his parent's, but I didn't want to upset him by asking." Hermione said sadly as they walked down the hall, as Ron and Ginny nodded.

"I knew, but I didn't mean to figure it out. Dumbledore made me promise not to tell anyone, not that I would of. " Harry replied quietly, earning him a few surprised looks.

Harry peeked his head down the next hall and saw the small tea shop set up and nodded his head towards it.  
"Let's go." He said, grabbing Ginny's hand in his own and tugging her with him.

* * *

On the last day of their Christmas holiday Mr. Weasley returned home from St. Mungo's completely cured but slightly sore in the area's the snake had bitten him, bringing almost everyone's mood up, except for Sirius, whose good mood just about evaporated the day after Christmas, realizing Harry was due back to Hogwarts soon and wouldn't see him until the Easter Holidays. He had taken to spending most of the day sitting in his mother's room tending to Buckbeak, but Harry tried to spent most of his time with Sirius, sitting on the bed with him and sharing tales from their days at Hogwarts, with Remus joining them when he could, who spent most of his time 'helping Tonks plan her lessons'. Harry cringed at the thought.

He was currently sitting on the floor at the coffee table in the living room playing chess with Ron, trying his hardest to win but was at the moment losing. Ginny was sitting on a couch pillow on the ground next to him flipping through a newest edition of Witch Weekly and mentioned some of the articles to Hermione who was sitting on the couch behind her trying to french braid Ginny's hair as she read the instructions ripped from the magazine Ginny was holding.

"I don't understand this next bit-" Hermione was saying, holding the instructions in front of Ginny and pointing with her thumb while her other hand held together three stands of Ginny's hair. "How do I do that without messing the braid up?"

"C'mon, he's only a pawn, you idiot! Kick his arse off the board!" Harry said enthusiastically to his chess piece, seeing an opportunity to finally beat Ron.

"All you have to do is grab bigger pieces of hair as you go Hermione, just like a regular braid." Ginny explained gleefully, relishing in the fact that Hermione couldn't understand something.

All the sudden they could hear footsteps running down the hall and the floor above them, catching them off guard as they looked at each other curiously.

"What's-"

Just then Mrs. Weasley ran into the room, strands of her red hair escaping her bun and sticking out by her flushed face. Harry and Ron jumped their feet, their hands instantly going towards their wands in the pockets of their jeans.

"I need you all to stay here with your brothers and take care of your father while the Order heads out for a bit." She said breathlessly, turning her head to look at someone over her shoulder and listened to what they were saying briefly before she nodded her head at them and gestured with her hands for them to go.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked her mother, grabbing Harry's hand as he silently offered to help her off the ground.

"Their was an attack on Gringgot's. Bill thinks that You-Know-Who tried to seize control of the bank." Mrs. Weasley explained in a higher pitched voice than usual.

"Why can't we go? We could help!" Ron asked, his wand ready in his hand.

"You will do no such thing Ronald Weasley! You are to stay here with siblings and friends and wait until we get back. No buts! Now I have to go, and stay out of trouble while I am!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, her patience wearing thin.

Harry grabbed Ron's shoulder roughly as he opened his mouth to protest, making Ron wince as he turned his head towards Harry to give him an angry glare.

"It's not worth fighting over Ron, just let this one go." Harry said quietly to him, watching Mrs. Weasley march down the hall over Ron's shoulder.

"Why are you so calm about this? Usually you're the one jumping at any opportunity to fight!" Ron argued back, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"Look at how many people they're bringing, either it's already over or they're calling for back-up." Harry told him, pointing to the small group that Mrs. Weasley was with, all of them talking among each other. "And I expect it's already over, or they would be rushing to get out of here."

Ron turned his head to the side and quickly glanced at the group, his eyes studying the members carefully. He then gave a sigh and put his wand back into his pocket reluctantly.

"I can't believe I'm actually admitting this, but you're right." Ron said, the corners of his mouth lifting.

Harry let go of his shoulder and gave Ron his best offended look, and clutched dramatically at his heart.

"Your words offend me deeply, I don't know if I'll ever be able to get over this." Harry said with a sigh, turning and burying his head in the crook of Ginny's neck, shaking his body as if sobbing.

Ginny patted his back in mock sympathy and hugged him closer to her, resting her head on his shoulder. Hermione watched the scene in amusement and surprised, slightly shocked at how quickly Harry and Ron's moods changed.

"Look what you've done to my poor Harry. I think the only think that will cheer him up now is some ice cream." Ginny jokingly told Ron.

"I think a good snog would cheer me up." Harry whispered cheekily against her collar bone, making a shudder run through her and a blush creep onto her cheeks.

Ron, being the protective brother, noticed her reaction and looked at Harry's back suspiciously. As Ron went to open his mouth Ginny hastily pulled Harry's chin up and grabbed his hand, making their way out of the room.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you need us!" Ginny said over her shoulder, dragging a snickering Harry with her.

As soon as they reached the kitchen Ginny let go of Harry's hand and snapped his hard on the shoulder.

"That wasn't funny! You know how Ron is!" Ginny scolded.

It took Harry a moment before he regained his composure, and cleared his throat before he started to talk.

"Your reaction was worth it." Harry replied with a lazy smile.

Ginny made a noise in the back of her throat as she rolled her eyes, turning away from Harry and going over to the fridge.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, leaning on the counter behind her.

Ginny opened the freezer and dug through it before she found a carton of vanilla ice cream, and waved it in her hand at Harry.

"I believe I mentioned that ice cream would cheer you up." She said with a smile, putting the ice cream on the counter and started looking for toppings.

"That's not how I remembered it." Harry muttered under his breath, looking in the fridge for whipped cream.

Harry looked up and saw the corners of Ginny's mouth tugging up as she fought it.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I'm currently on vacation right now and decided to finish the chapter before it was any later! And sorry about the short chapter, I promise I'll try to make the next chapter longer, but I think it will because of what I have planned. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review!


	26. Chapter 26: Never A Dull Day

After a frustrating night of trying to fall asleep and craving any news on the Gringotts attack, no one had heard anything but Sirius, who had talked briefly with Remus on his mirror and knew that no one was killed, and only a few were seriously hurt from an explosion. As they all walked out of Grimmauld Place with Sirius disguised as a dog and all their luggage shunk to fit in their pockets, Fred walked to the edge of the street and held his wand out in front of him, and seconds later the Knight Bus zoomed down the street and stopped with a quick screech in front of the group. An older man opened the door for them and asked for their destination which Fred gave along with all the money to pay for everyone, and walked on with George following behind.

Harry turned to the dog sitting on the side walk beside him with his ears lowered, and gave a soft whine when he noticed Harry watching him. Harry walked directly in front of him and kneeled onto his knees, giving the dog a quick pat on the head.

"Don't get too upset, I'll call you on the mirror tonight after everyone is sleeping. Maybe even Tonks will let me use her fireplace so I could stop by and have a quick chat with you and Remus. But promise you won't do anything stupid that'll expose you, we can't talk if you're in a holding cell in the Ministry," Sirius gave another whine, "Just stay inside and be a good little dog."

Sirius huffed out his chest and bared his teeth, but Harry laughed and rubbed behind his ears, not at all frightened of the dog. Sirius then licked the side of his face much to the disgust of Harry, who wiped his face and wiped his slimy hand on Sirius' coat of fur.

"I'll talk to you later." Harry said before he quickly hugged Sirius around the neck, letting go when he saw Ginny climb onto the bus.

Harry got up and gave Sirius one last smile before he turned around and climbed onto the bus, the conductor shutting the door after him. Harry walked down the aisle and took the empty seat next to Ginny, who linked her hand together with Harry's and gave it a comfortable squeeze.

"He'll be alight." She told him, sensing his worry.

"I know," He replied with a sigh, looking out the window with his eyes following a black haired dog walking towards Grimmauld Place, "But I still worry."

As the bus started to fly down the street Ginny hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling the side of his neck. Harry smiled and leaned his head against hers, soaking in her comfort. She knew how to comfort him without using words, and Harry was extremely grateful for that.

It didn't take them long to get to King's Cross Station at the speed that the Knight Bus drove, and since they were by themselves with Fred and George being the only ones over seventeen they awkwardly made their way to platform 9 3/4, none of them accustomed to boarding the train without their parents or guardians there to see them off. Fred, George, Harry and Ron took all their trunks and loaded them onto the train as Ginny and Hermione went off in search of a compartment for them to sit in. After they finished Fred and George broke off from the group, in search of their friend Lee Jordan, who had been holding onto some of their new creations they had made for their joke shop. Harry and Ron discussed the new article that had come out in the Daily Prophet about the newest member to the Chudley Cannons, who had recently replaced their injured seeker.

"- at least they have a shot at winning their next game-"

"Are you kidding? From what I've seen of this bloke he's as bad as their old seeker!" Harry interjected.

"Didn't you see how he caught that snitch during the last practice?" Ron asked defensively.

"Yeah, and it was rubbish. He almost broke his arm going for that dive and caught it at the last second. Here, they're in here." Harry said, pointing at the compartment on his left.

Ron stopped walking and opened the door, entering with Harry behind him. Hermione was sitting by herself on one side while Ginny sat on the other, stopping their conversation mid sentence as they entered.

"Why do I get the feeling I don't want to know what you were talking about?" Ron asked as he took the seat next to Hermione and shrugged his jacket off.

"Because you really don't." Ginny replied as Harry sat next to her, linking their fingers together.

Ron made a noise of protest in the back of his throat, "Why do you have to do coupley things in front of me?" Ron groaned.

"Coupley things?" Ginny repeated with an arched eyebrow.

"You know what I mean; holding hands, kissing, touching. It's disturbing for me to watch." Ron said with a shudder.

Ginny then proceeded to tell Ron to shove a stick up a interesting part of body, much to Harry's amusement and Hermione's disgust.

* * *

It was lightly snowing when the train stopped at the Hogsmeade station, making the ground slippery as they stepped down from the train. Ginny gripped Harry's warm hand tighter as she stepped off the train, using him to keep her up straight as her foot slipped on the icy ground, and carefully joined Ron and Hermione ahead of them. Harry noticed as they walked down the path that led to the carriages that there wasn't as many people back that had left for the hols, and figured some parent's wanted their children home after what had happened at the bank yesterday. He thought that was plain stupid, what other place could be more safe for their children than Hogwarts?

Harry shuddered as the wind got stronger, pulling his scarf over his chin and lips and hugging Ginny closer to his side, and hurried the rest of the way to an available carriage. Ron and Hermione opened the door a minute or two later with Neville, who they had stopped and helped when Trevor escaped from his owners frozen fingers.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed as he shut the door, "There must be one hell of a storm brewing out there!"

The other nodded in agreement as they huffed on their cold fingers in the hopes of regaining feeling back in their limbs, and spend the carriage ride trying to warm up before they had to go back out into the freezing weather.  
A wave of warm air hit them as they entered the castle, much to their relief. Ginny rubbed her hands together before linking them with Harry's, and they both ignored the glances thrown their way as they walked down the corridor that led to the Great Hall with Ron, Hermione, and Neville by their sides. They all sat down at the Gryffindor table with Dean and Seamus joining, both putting in what they did and got from Christmas, and Harry couldn't help but notice Dean's eyes glance towards Ginny and their hands inter-linked, but decided to ignore it. Finally every had made it through the storm outside and were seated at their house tables, Dumbledore sat from his chair at the head table and cheerfully welcomed everyone back, and ended with telling minor details about the Gringotts attack yesterday, reporting that there were no dead and only a few injured.

After Dumbledore sat down the tables groaned as steaming food appeared on it, and the sound of chatter filled the hall again as everyone dig into the feast in front of them. Harry picked at his food while Neville, Ginny, and Hermione engaged in conversation, and Ron scarfed down his food like he had been starved for days. He didn't want to admit it, but Harry was bothered by the little details he had gotten about the attack, not even the Prophet had a full report to give in the morning's Daily Prophet._ Wasn't he promised to be more involved in what Voldemort was doing? Didn't they trust that after everything that had happened he could keep information?_

Harry closed his eyes and huffed out air from his nose, and shook his head. _Bloody hormones_, he thought as he took a sip of pumpkin juice, _just give it time_. As if Hermione sensed his thoughts she tapped Harry's shoulder to get his attention and asked him about the mirror Sirius had given him, taking his mind off the attack for a while. As they chatted the remaining food and empty plates vanished from the table and the table was cleaned of any garbage. Since Dumbledore had made the announcements before dinner they were free to leave, and Harry stood up still talking to Hermione as he reached for Ginny's hand as they joined the line leading out of the Great Hall.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter! Harry!" A voice called from the line behind them, and Harry strained his neck looking for the owner of the voice.

Tonks finally made it past the line of annoyed students and gave Harry a breathless smile, and she took a moment to regain her breath.

"It's like trying to push past a bloody brick wall," She muttered irritably, then covered her mouth and glanced around them, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to use foul language, being a teacher and all. Keep forgetting that rule."

Harry smirked as Ginny and Hermione let out a burst of small giggles.

"Where's Ron?" Tonks asked, her eyes glancing at the empty space at Harry's side.

"He went to send mum and dad a letter letting them know we got here safely." Ginny responded.

"Why don't you two meet him up in the Common Room? I need to have a quick chat with Harry." Tonks told them.

Hermione shrugged and gave a wave of goodbye as she mingled with the now shortened line, while Ginny took a moment to kiss Harry on the cheek before she said goodbye to Tonks and left them, looking behind one last time to see Harry's pink cheeks and Tonks amusement before she walked out the doors.

"So, what's up?" Harry asked.

Tonks motioned with her finger for Harry to follow her to a small corridor on the side of the Great Hall, where the teachers usually left from. It led to a small dimly light chamber that felt as cold as the weather outside, making Harry shudder and pull his cloak closer to his body.

"Sorry about the chill, but I'll make this brief. Since you've been getting better with Occulemncy I'll give you this week off, but I expect you in my office seven o'clock sharp next Thursday." Tonks said, leaning against the chamber wall and crossing her arms across her chest.

Harry nodded in agreement, "Sounds fair. Now, Dumbledore promised to include me in whatever the Order's doing, and I haven't heard a word about the attack other than what everyone else knows."

Tonks blinked in surprise. "I never knew you could be so blunt. Okay, I'll tell you, but I better not get my head chewed off for telling you. Voldemort had the attack planned for ages but didn't tell his Death Eaters until the last moment, but even then Snape managed to contact Dumbledore. Gringotts already has great security but with us there we managed to hold them off from entering the bank. I could see Voldemort's surprise and fury, it was quite a sight."

"Yeah, I bet." Harry muttered, absentmindedly rubbing his scar.

Tonks gave him a sympathetic smile, "That must be hell, feeling his emotions."

"He has mood swings like a teenage girl, it's difficult to keep up." Harry murmured, much to Tonks amusement.

"Okay, I've kept you long enough. You can go and join your girlfriend back in the Common Room." Tonks said teasingly, pushing him towards the exit.

Harry let out a snort of laughter as he blushed, but grasped the doorknob and pushed the door open, "Goodnight Tonks."

"Goodnight Harry. I better not catch you and Ginny in any broom cupboards!" She called after him.

"Oh, sod off!" She heard Harry remark as the door shut behind him, leaving Tonks snorting with laughter behind him.

* * *

A/N: Oh God, do I feel terrible. With school starting back up and trying to stay on top of my grades I haven't had time to write for this story! But I promise I won't abandon this story, I have so much more plot left that I want to write! But, I don't know when I'll get the chapter out, so please bear with me for now. Once again I'm really sorry!


	27. Chapter 27: Hold Your Tongue

The bitter cold continued on into January, leaving the castle inside feeling chilled even with all the Heating Charms being casted. Harry walked hand in hand with Ginny as they walked down a cold hall with Ron and Hermione slightly ahead of them, once again arguing.

"- Honestly Ron, they can't put a Heating Charm all around the castle, it would take too much magic!"

"Well it would bloody make our lives easier, wouldn't it?"

Harry bit the inside of his cheek as Hermione snapped right back at Ron, watching both their faces color as the argument heated.

"They argue like a old married couple, the only problem is they aren't a couple." Ginny murmured in Harry's ear, barely stifling her own laughter.

Harry couldn't help the snort that escaped. "Won't be long, I reckon. Both of them admitted they liked the other, just not to each other."

Ginny shook her head in disbelief, "I don't get why they don't just say it, it's quite obvious they fancy each other. Well, Ron can be daft."

Before Harry could come up with a comment to stick up for his best mate Ginny halted in front of the charms classroom and kissed his cheek. "I've got class, I'll see you at lunch!"

And with that Ginny hitched her bag over her shoulder and entered the classroom, leaving Harry to Ron and Hermione. Groaning he hurried up to join them, purposely putting himself in between them.

"I swear you two fight over the stupidest things." He interrupted, and received two incredulous looks.

"C'mon, who fights over why there aren't any Warming Charms around the castle? Ridiculous!" Harry continued.

Hermione flushed and jerked her head downwards, trying to hid her embarrassment, while the tips of Ron's ears turned pink.

"Where'd Ginny go?" Ron asked, finally noticing his missing sister.

"Class, which is where we should be, we'll be late if we don't hurry." Harry replied, glancing down at his watch.

Just like that the argument was forgotten as Hermione jerked her head up and hurried down the hall, leaving Harry and Ron yelling at her to slow down. Harry entered the classroom with seconds to spare, and took his place next to Ron and took his wand out of pocket, excitement coursing through him. Tonks was going to teach them how to use a Shield Charm. He knew it would come in handy but was slightly embarrassed he didn't know how to use one properly. He had been in so many fights and had never really used a shield to protect himself.

The door to Tonks office open, revealing the long red haired witch with blue eyes and bright green robes, who smiled brightly at her class as she set some papers on her desk. Harry had to admit, Tonks looked like a normal person for once, aside from the fact her eyes were a bit too blue to look natural.

"Good morning class! I hope you all got enough sleep this weekend, yes I know the Quidditch game was yesterday Ms. Patil, but that doesn't excuse a good nights sleep. Today and throughout this week we'll be focusing on Shield Charms and how to use them correctly. Now I know that usually Professor Flitwick would teach you how to cast the charm, but since it's commonly used for defense, we decided I would teach it to you. Take out Self- Defense Spellwork and turn to page 175 and read the summary on how to correctly cast the charm and the theory behind it. After you finish I'll show you how to use it, and most likely tomorrow we'll start trying to cast it."

Tonks sat on top of her desk and watched as her class grabbed their books out and flipped to the correct page, before turning to her papers and reading through a few first grade essays. Harry managed to quickly read through the brief summary and sat in his chair looking around, not at all surprised to see Hermione patiently waiting in her chair, already done reading. He drew on the corner of his latest defense homework to subdue his boredom. Finally Tonks called for their attention and stood in front of them, flicking her wrist so her wand left the holster on her forearm and fell into her hand.

"Now, I'm going to have one of you come up to the front of the class and throw a jinx at me, and watch how I block it. As soon as I put my shield up I want you to duck, the spell will bounce off and shoot the other way."

As soon as she stopped talking hands shot in the air, begging to be called on.

"Mr. Weasley, would you please join me?" Tonks asked.

Ron nodded and stood up from his chair, grabbing his wand off the desk as he made his way to the front of the class. Tonks stood directly across from him and raised her wand in front of her.

"Remember, only jinxes or minor spells, nothing serious." Tonks reminded Ron as he took his stance.

"Yes ma'am." Ron muttered, and raised his wand.

Ron allowed the students to take cover on the ground so they wouldn't get hit by the rebounding curse before he sent a minor tickling curse towards Tonks, who quickly slashed her wand in the air, which at that point Ron ducked as well.

"Protego!" She yelled, and the class watched as a clear shield conjured in front of her before the spell hit, and as expected, the spell harmlessly bounced off the shield and flew towards the wall directly across from Tonks.

"As you noticed you could vaguely see the shield, almost like a bubble. The shield can take about two or three spells before it crumbles, but it depends on what spell hits it, the stronger it is the more likely the shield is the crumble. But Unforgivables are an exception; shields will not protect you against them. Plus shields take a good amount of magical energy to stay up, so it limits the amount of shields you can put up before you feel the effects of magical draining. But like I said, it depends on what spell is being thrown at you."

Before Tonks could go on the bell rang and they dismissed, and Harry almost laughed at the disappointed look that crossed her face as the students left, and he raised his hand in farewell before he joined Ron and Hermione who had waited by the door for him. In comfortable silence they walked down the hall and up the staircase until they reached the seventh floor, and made their way down the corridor to the Common Room.

"Potter, I require a word with you." A familiar cold voice said.

Harry tensed before he stiffly turned around, and watched Snape as he slowly made his way down the hall, watching Harry with guarded eyes.

"What the hell do you want?" Ron snapped, his hand reaching for the pocket that held his wand.

"This does not concern you Mr. Weasley, now please put your wand away before I take points for threatening a teacher." Snape snapped back.

Hermione grabbed ahold of Ron's arm and pulled him back to her side, keeping a tight grip on him as she studied Snape with cold eyes. But for once Snape did not make a comment or glare back at her, but kept his gaze on Harry, seeming almost shocked at how unemotional Harry looked.

"Go into the Common Room, I'll be a moment." Harry told them, not taking his eyes off of Snape.

After a moment of hesitation Hermione dragged an angry Ron into the Common Room with her, giving Harry a reassuring smile before she let the door close.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, not bothering to keep the accusing tone out of his voice.

"I know you lost what little trust you had in me when you saw me at the Riddle House as a Death Eater, but Dumbledore and I want you to know that I work as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix and I haven't been a Death Eaters since the end of the first war. I will not discuss the reason why I switched, but I saw how wrong the Dark Lord was and changed my allegiance. I gave you potions during your capture to help you survive and to help you recover quicker. I don't expect you to trust me so easily or even like me, as I feel the same way towards you." Snape looked as if he wanted to be doing anything at this moment than to explain himself to Harry, which almost made Harry laugh out loud.

At that moment part of Harry wanted to yell at Snape for not getting him out of that damn house quicker, but he also knew that he had tried, so held his tongue and decided to make this chat quick for both their sakes.

"It took a while for me to understand, but now I do. I still don't trust you and may never again, but I understand." And with that Harry left Snape with a slight stunned look on his face, and walked into the Common Room.

Ron jumped up from his seat on the couch closest to the fireplace and made a beeline for Harry, while Hermione calmly walked towards him, looking for any sign of distress on his face or posture.

"What did the prat want?" Ron asked, and Harry caught the trace of protectiveness in his voice, which lifted Harry's mood.

"All he did was explain he was on our side and didn't expect me to trust him." Harry responded, walking towards the warm fire and rubbing his hands close to the flames.

Ron and Hermione had followed him and sat back down in their spots, keeping a close eye on him.

"Is that all?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I told him I understood and walked away before he could say anything else."

Hermione nodded and looked into the fire, and Harry could almost hear the gears working in her head. Ron made room on the couch and Harry sat down placing his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.

Ginny came in a few minutes later and set her bag down at her feet before she walked over and sat on the coffee in front of Harry, putting her finger under his chin and tilted his head up, her eyes searching his.

"Why aren't you in class?" Harry asked before she could talk.

"Hagrid came down with the flu, so class was cancelled. What's going on?" She asked gently.

Harry let a breath out and briefly told her about his encounter with Snape, and smiled as her eyes flashed with suppressed anger before she gained control of her emotions.

"At least he somewhat apologized." She said half-heartedly, trying to cheer Harry up.

"You call that 'somewhat apologized'? Ron started, but wisely shut his mouth at the scowl Hermione threw at him.

Ginny leaned into Harry and placed her head on his shoulder, and whispered 'Whipped" in his ear as she glanced at Ron, and Harry fought the urge to snicker. He soon found his sour mood disappearing as Ginny cuddled with him on the chair and gave him the silent comfort he found only she could give him, and allowed himself to relax since his meeting with Snape, and let it slip his mind as he joined in on the conversation going on around him, and enjoyed the rest of his day without much thought to the dungeon bat.

* * *

A week after his encounter with Snape Harry had a Occlumency lesson with Dumbledore instead of Tonks, who had caught the flu from Hagrid and was ordered by Madam Pomfrey a day of bed rest to let the Pepper-Up potion do its work. So after dinner Harry waited until every one had gone up to their dormitories before he walked the path to Dumbledore's office, and gave the password. Somewhat shyly Harry had his way up the stairs and paused at the door to the office before raising his fist and knocked.

"Come in." Dumbledore called.

Harry opened the door and looked around, finding himself once again fascinated by Dumbledore's office, which held a variety of magical objects that Harry didn't have the names for, but intrigued him none the less. Taking the seat in front of Dumbledore's desk a movement behind Dumbledore caught Harry attention, and smiled as Fawkes flew to the perch on the desk and shook out his feathers.

"Good evening Harry." Dumbledore greeted, settling himself in his chair and clasping his fingers on the desk.

"Good evening Sir." Harry replied politely, reaching out to stroke Fawkes feather.

"He seems rather fond of you, which is quite hard to get from a Phoenix." Dumbledore told him, watching the interaction with twinkling eyes.

Harry blushed and hastily changed the subject, "So how much had Tonks told you about our Occlumency classes?"

"She said that in the past few months you gotten quite far, further than we believed you'd get in a short amount of time. So far you've managed to keep her out of your head for a good three minutes or so before your shield crumbles, and I must say I'm impressed. Occlumency is a skill that is not easily learnt, and to keep a shield up for that long against a good Legiliments is remarkable."

Once again Harry found himself blushing, not used to be praised so highly. "So, um, I'm ready to start whenever you are." He said awkwardly.

Dumbledore chuckled at his shyness and rose from his chair with Harry following suit, and walked around his desk.

"I'm ready, stand up and be prepared, I'm going to try to catch you off guard." Dumbledore told him, stopping by the door turned to face Harry.

Harry grabbed his wand out of his robes pocket and gripped it tightly, finding himself tense as Dumbledore smiled and made no move to grab his wand. Harry stood their for a good minute watching Dumbledore carefully, searching for any hint that he was going to enter Harry's mind. As Harry glanced down at the ground Dumbledore pounced, letting his wand slip from the holster wrapped around his forearm and nonverbally entered Harry's mind. Caught unaware, Harry gasped as he felt the intrusion, watching memories play out; his first Quidditch match, the Yule Ball, Voldemort's resurrection...

Harry fought hard as he watched the memory play out, fighting to gain control of his mind and to push Dumbledore out, desperately trying to block his emotions bubbling up, and after five minutes Dumbledore was pushed out of his mind, making both of them stumble as they tried catching their breath. Dumbledore grimaced and rubbed a red mark from a Stinging Jinx Harry didn't remember casting on his hand that held his wand.

"That was good, after seeing Voldemort you fought to block me out even harder. Ms. Tonks mentioned you fought harder when bad memories surfaced, which is a natural motivator." Dumbledore said, flicking his wand at the injury on his hand, making it disappear completely.

"How long do you think it'll take me to master Occlumency?" Harry blurted, his curiosity burning.

Dumbledore hesitated a moment as he thought over it, "Well, you've been doing well this past few months, and if you keep up the way you have, I believe it'll be close to the end of the school year or a little into the summer before you completely master the skill."

Harry nodded, his eyebrows furrowing together, "I have a feeling I'll need it. I think the final battle is closer than either of us thought."

Dumbledore looked at him in surprise before he composed himself, "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, Voldemort's been holding more meetings lately and he has more Death Eaters as of late, not counting the ones still locked in Azkaban. I know you mentioned he was building an army like he did in the first war, but something feels different. Like he's getting ready for battle, much like I am." Harry told Dumbledore, barely concealing the growing panic inside him.

But Dumbledore picked it up in his voice, and walked over to Harry and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"I know the thought of seeing Voldemort, and even having to fight him, scares you. It's understandable, seeing as you are only fifteen, but don't let it worry you too much. Like you said, he still has Death Eaters in Azkaban, very loyal Death Eaters that he values. He is also building up an army, which will take him some time before he thinks he has enough power behind him. The Order is doing everything we can to slow down his attempts, and every little thing we manage to keep from Voldemort gives you more time, so don't think he'll get all that power easy. We all keep reminding you, you aren't alone. It'll just take a while before you understand." Dumbledore told him, keeping a comfortable grip on his shoulders.

Harry couldn't think of anything to say, so nodded his thanks and gave a weak smile. Dumbledore smiled back, and much to Harry's relief, decided to drop the subject, letting go of Harry and returned to his spot.

"Are you ready to continue?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes Sir." Harry said, taking a deep breath and holding his wand out in front of him.

* * *

A/N: I felt bad for not posting much as of late, so I worked hard and quick on this chapter to make it up to you! Hope you enjoy it, I'll try to get the next chapter done soon.


	28. Chapter 28: Blast From The Past

January quickly rolled in February, and Harry and Ginny celebrated their first Valentine's Day together. Harry had talked to Sirius about his plans over the mirror in the Common Room when everyone else was asleep, and Sirius had given him some ideas much better than the ones Harry had come up with. In the end Harry had set up a picnic by the lake with a heating charm covering both of them, and despite the fact Harry was extremely nervous, Ginny had sworn it was perfect. March arrived, bringing slightly warmer weather that melted most of the snow and made the ground a muddy mess.

March also brought more homework for the fifth years, their teacher's stressing the importance of their OWL's, and stressing their students out as well. Hermione had started to make schedules for herself along with Ron and Harry, who had groaned but hadn't said a word against it, not wanting to upset Hermione, who was more stressed than either of them. Harry found that he couldn't spend as much time as he wanted to with Ginny, which left him frustrated, and with all his homework he had little time to talk with Sirius, who had offered to help with some of Harry's assignments, anything to satisfy his boredom at Grimmauld Place.

Harry was barely awake as he mindlessly flipped through the pages of his potions book, looking for an antidote for the Draught of the Living Death, when he heard someone shut their book rather loudly, jerking him awake and looking around for the source. Ron was seated a different table in the Common Room with Hermione, who was helping him with their recent assignment in Transfiguration, gripping his hair tightly in his hand as Hermione reopened the book and was calmly explaining something to Ron. Harry chuckled at his friends frustration.

"I can't bloody concentrate Hermione, why can't we finish this after we get back from Hogsmeade?" Ron asked pleadingly to Hermione.

Harry turned his head and watched as Hermione's expression softened as she studied Ron's overwhelmed face, and she sighed in defeat.

"Alright, we're due to leave in a half-half anyway. We all need to relax before these OWL's drive us crazy." Hermione said with a smile.

Ron looked flabbergasted, not used to Hermione agreeing with him, but quickly changed his expression to pleased, and gathered his books together. Hermione stood and walked over to Harry, who had folded his arms on the table and laid his head on them, once again slowly nodding off.

"C'mon Harry, get up. We leave soon." Hermione said gently, shaking Harry's shoulder.

Harry groaned and hid his face in his arms, "Can't I just stay here and sleep?" He asked in a muffled voice.

Hermione laughed and shook her head, though Harry couldn't see.

"Afraid not sleepyhead. You promised Ginny you'd spend time with her today." Hermione reminded him.

Harry picked his head up and rested it on his hand, and looked at Hermione with half opened eyes, "I couldn't sleep last night, my scar kept hurting," He stopped talking and winced, "Like right now."

Hermione frowned and leaned in a little closer, her eyes studying Harry. "Your scar looks redder than usual, but you are a little pale." She noticed, "Ron? C'mere."

Ron wandered over with his book bag stuffed and sat on the table beside Harry. "What?"

"Look at his scar, doesn't it look irritated?" Hermione asked, much to Harry's embarrassment.

"Yeah, it does." Ron replied after a moment.

"I'm okay," Harry told them, his face turning a light pink, "It's not a big deal."

Hermione opened her mouth but quickly closed it, knowing Harry was irritated. Harry's irritation quickly faded as Ginny walked down the girls dormitory and into the Common Room, making her way towards Harry.

"Good morning." Ginny greeted before she kissed Harry, who looked more awake now that Ginny had joined them.

"Morning." Harry responded, stifling a yawn behind his hand as he started to gather his things off the table.

"Last minute homework?" Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's due tomorrow, but I can finish it when we get back." Harry told her, stuffing his books and homework into his bag.

"I'm heading up to the dorm, give me your bag, I'll just take it with me." Ron said, holding his hand out to Harry, who handed his bag over to him.

"Thanks mate." Harry told him.

Ron headed up the stairs to the dorm, leaving Harry with the girls. He stood up from his chair and stretched, barely noticing his shirt rid up and show a sliver of his stomach. Ginny's eyes were instantly drawn to it, and she frowned as she noticed he looked skinnier than he had been a few months ago.

"Do you even eat anymore?" She asked, her eyes showing her worry.

"Jeez, is this pick on Harry day?" Harry asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Hermione shook her head at Ginny, silently warning her to shut her mouth, but Ginny glared back at her.

"No," Ginny snapped, "Am I not allowed to worry about you?" She asked.

Harry glared right back at her and opened his mouth to retort, but Ron hurried down the stairs before he could get a word out.

"C'mon, if we leave now we'll be some of the first to get into Hogsmeade." Ron told them, unaware of the tension between his sister and Harry.

Harry's glare softened and he offered his hand out to Ginny, who searched his face for a moment before she gave her hand to him, squeezing his fingers hard enough to make Harry wince, much to Hermione's amusement. Ron and Hermione were a head of Ginny and Harry as they made their way through the castle and to the gates, when Ron looking behind his shoulder to the couple behind him and Hermione, talking in hushed voices.

"What's up with them?" He asked Hermione.

"Small row, they're probably working it out right now." Hermione responded, glancing over at Harry and Ginny, who both looked more relaxed.

"What did Harry do?" Ron asked, starting to turn around.

Hermione grabbed onto Ron's arm before he could make a scene, and tugged him closer to her.

"Don't be a prat! Every couple has rows, and they need to work it out. You can't get all protective of Ginny just because she and Harry are arguing." Hermione scolded.

Ron made a noise of protest in the back of his throat, "If he does anything to hurt her..."

"You've told Harry more than once what you'd do to him if he hurt Ginny, I think he understands." Hermione cut in, glaring at Ron.

Ron huffed but decided to drop the subject, not wanting to row with Hermione over his sister and Harry. Hermione smiled when he didn't comment, and together they walked arm in arm down to Hogsmeade, and she brought up where they should go first. As they entered the small village the noise level rose and the road became much more crowded, and they almost lost sight of Ginny and Harry, but after a moment the couple hurried back over to them.

"We're gonna head over to Zonko's for a bit." Harry informed Ron and Hermione, keeping a grip on Ginny's hand, "We'll meet up with you at The Three Broomsticks at one."

Harry waved to Ron and Hermione before he and Ginny headed towards Zonko's, the tension between them gone and the fight just about forgotten.

"Wouldn't the twins see this as a betrayal?" Harry asked as he opened the door for them to Zonko's.

"Naw, since they stayed at the castle today to study for their NEWT's, they asked me to scope out the competition." She replied with a wicked smile, her eyes roaming over the shelves full of gags and tricks.

A half hour later they left the store with bags full of new pranking supply that Harry had bought for himself and Sirius (who had begged him to buy some so he could play a few pranks on Remus) and Ginny stocked up on her own supplies, which she usually used when she was at home and wasn't allowed to use magic. Noticing they had more than enough time before they had to meet up with Ron and Hermione, they decided to stroll down the streets of Hogsmeade and sight see for a while. As they passed Glidrags Ginny tugged the sleeve of Harry's long sleeve shirt up and ran her fingers over the bracelet she gave him for Christmas, and smiled.

"You still wear it." She said aloud, a hint of surprise lacing her voice.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Harry asked, smiling down at her.

Instead of answering Ginny gripped the front of his shirt and brought herself up onto the tips of her toes and kissed him. Harry grinned into the kiss and brought his hand up to stroke her cheek before pulling away.

"Is that my reward for being a good boy?" He asked with a smirk.

Ginny smirked back and gave him a playful push, "Your reward for being a bad boy is much more pleasant."

Harry visibly gulped and looked down at her with wide eyes, which made Ginny laugh, clutching his arm for support.

"I can't tell whether you're scared and shocked I said that." She told him, holding her laughter back.

"I think a little of both." Harry replied with a crooked smile on his face, and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

As Ginny laid her head on his shoulder Harry felt his scar flare up, a gasp leaving his mouth and making his knees buckle. Ginny reacted immediately and tightened her grip on him, letting him lean on her as he regained his balance.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, her voice full of worry.

"Scar's been acting up all day." Harry murmured, keeping his hand over it and rubbing the skin around it.

"Do you need to sit? The Three Broomsticks is across the road, we can sit in their and just wait for Ron and Hermione, or we can leave early-"

"No," Harry interrupted, "I'll be fine, the pain just startled me, that's all."

Ginny placed her hands on either side of his face and studied him, looking for any sign of pain. After a moment she sighed and linked their arms together, and started walking again.

"Fine, but if it happens again just let me know if you want to sit down." Ginny told him, still sounding worried.

"Yes dear." Harry responded with a smile.

Ginny rolled her eyes but grinned, tightening her arm around his and continued down the street. Harry felt another flare of pain in his scar that was weaker than the last, but he still winced silently, not wanting to worry Ginny even more. Harry and Ginny walked around Hogsmeade, enjoying the rare warm day in March, and before they knew it, it was time to meet up Ron and Hermione at The Three Broomsticks. As they made their way back Harry felt a feeling of unease in the pit of his stomach, and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, feeling as if someone was watching him.

Not wanting to make a big deal out of nothing Harry kept his mouth shut, blaming the feeling on the paranoia he had been feeling a lot lately. But as he looked around something caught his eye near The Hogs Head, and his scar flared stronger than the last, making Harry slap his hand over it and let out a strangled gasp. He heard Ginny next to him but couldn't make out what she was saying, and felt her tugging on his arm, but he strained his eyes and could barely make out a hooded figure lurking by. The figure made Harry fill with dread and he reacted a second before it was too late.

"Duck!" He yelled at Ginny, and pulled her to the ground with him.

A jet of green light flew above them and hit an empty building behind them, sending pieces of brick and glass everywhere. Instantly the air was filled with screams and panicked voices, and more Death Eaters came out of their hiding places and began firing curses. Harry whipped his wand out and made a shield to cover himself and Ginny as she fumbled with her jacket and grabbed her wand out.

"I'll cover you, go and find Ron and Hermione!" Harry yelled to Ginny, who pressed her back against his so he was covered as well.

"No chance in hell, I'm not leaving you!" Ginny shouted back angrily.

Before Harry could snap back a loud voice shouted into the air, "Find Potter! Dark Lord's orders!"

Harry felt Ginny tense behind him and gritted his teeth. His scar once again flared up again, the pain so bad it sent him onto his knees, a loud yelp escaping his mouth. He felt Ginny fall to her knees beside him and she tried to pry his fingers off his forehead, but he shook his head at her.

"If you're with me they'll target you as well, just go! Please!" He told her through clenched teeth, his eyes searching for signs of Death Eaters nearby.

He felt Ginny hesitate, and continued on, "Aurors and teachers will be here soon, I'll be fine until they get here! Find Ron and Hermione and make sure you all get out of harms way!"

Harry stood up and raised his wand in front of him, and he pushed Ginny towards the crowd, "Please go! I'll cover you!" He begged.

Ginny looked close to tears but did as she was told, giving him one last anguished look before she turned her back and hurried through the crowd to The Three Broomsticks where Ron and Hermione should of been. Harry cursed a Death Eater that had trained his wand on Ginny's retreating back, and continued guarding her until she was behind closed doors. Unfortunately with his attention on her he didn't notice a Death Eater sneaking up on him, and was caught by surprise when a Cruciatus Curse hit him in the back, sending him on his back and letting a short scream pierce the air.

The Death Eater let the curse go after a few minutes of watching Harry thrash on the ground, and watched as Harry regained his composure and shakily stood up, and raised his wand towards the Death Eater.

"_Confringo_!" Harry shouted, sending a stream of fire towards the Death Eater, who easily blocked it.

"_Sectumsempra_!" A familiar voice yelled, and Harry barely dodged out of the unfamiliar curses way, and it just caught him on the side of his shoulder.

Harry groaned as he felt two cuts slice through the skin on his right shoulder and felt the blood rush out of it, soaking through his shirt. Wormtail continued throwing curses at Harry, who in turn fired curses back, using his anger and frustration to power his spells.

"I'm surprised you're out here, out in the open." Harry snarled at Wormtail, sending a cutting curse at the rat.

"I wanted the honor of bringing you to the Dark Lord." Wormtail replied arrogantly, blocking Harry's spell.

"I hope you've grown used to being punished, because I have no intention of going back to that hell hole." Harry snapped back, increasing his fire at Wormtail, who could barely block all the spells Harry was sending at him.

As Wormtail opened his mouth a explosion went off in the building next to them, sending smoke, chucks of wood and glass in their direction and hitting them. Harry managed to avoid most of the bigger pieces, but his luck had run out as a five foot piece of wood hit him hard on the back, sending pain throughout his spine as he fell to the ground, small pieces of glass embedding into his skin. Harry coughed as some of the smoke entered his lungs and rolled onto his back, giving a small cry of pain as he back flared up, and used most of his strength to push the piece of wood off him. Waving his free hand in front of him Harry tried to clear some of the smoke, and stumbled over to where he last saw Wormtail.

Large pieces of glass and wood covered the ground, and after shifting a few pieces Harry saw part of Wormtail's hand sticking out with his wand clutched in his fingers. Harry quickly bent over and snatched the wand out of his hand and without thinking snapped it with his bare hands, the rage he felt for Wormtail over clouding his judgment. A muffled shout of protest came from Wormtail as he heard the snap, and struggled to remove the wood off himself as Harry flung the remains of the broken wand into the burning building.

Wormtail finally managed to free himself and prepared to lung at Harry, who was expecting it, and conjured ropes that wrapped themselves tightly around Wormtail's ankles and hands. Wormtail fell back to the ground with a snarl, and then scrunched his face up in concentration.

"No you don't!" Harry yelled, watching the man turn into a rat.

Harry transfigured the wood surrounding Wormtail into a neat little cage, holding the squealing rat prisoner. As Harry went to bent his knees to examine the cage, a hand grabbed his upper arm, and he spun around with his wand raised, ready to fight off his attacker.

"It's okay Harry! I won't hurt you!" Tonks said, holding her hands out in front of herself.

Harry dropped his wand immediately and was shocked when she pulled him into a short embrace, then held him out at arm's length to examine his injuries.

"You never walk away unscratched, do you?" She muttered, noticing his body shaking and the blood covering his shoulder.

She then transfigured the arm of his shirt into a bandage for his shoulder, making him hiss out his breath as she tightened it. A small squealing made Tonks freeze and look around, and her eyes found the cage by Harry's feet, and a smirk slowly made it's way onto her face.

"Is that who I think it is?" She asked excitedly, waving her wand over the cage and muttered something under her breath that made the cage glow a soft green.

"An anti-Angimagus charm, keeps him from turning back," Tonks explained, seeing the confused look on Harry's face, "Now, McGonagall and Dumbledore are in the Three Broomsticks with a few Aurors and the Minister, after we showed up the Death Eater's ran. Go and wait with your friends in their, I'll take care of the rat." Harry couldn't help but grin at the wicked smile that crossed Tonks features.

Harry let out a breath and nodded, giving her a tight smile before he turned around and stumbled over The Three Broomsticks, where he could see Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and surprisingly McGonagall searching through the crowd for him. Harry increased his pace and hurried over to them, needing to know that they were okay. Ginny ran a head of the group and slammed into Harry, clutching him tightly to her as she fought the urge to sob.

"You scared me to death." She whispered, pulling away a little.

Harry bent lower to kiss her, but her startled gasp stopped him.

"Who got to you?" She whispered, anger clear in her voice.

Harry looked down and noticed his hands as well as his body were still shaking from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, and by the look of outrage that crossed the groups features led Harry to believe they knew as well. Ginny gently touched the bandage that covered his shoulder and quickly pulled her hand away when Harry winced, muttering a quick apology.

"Wormtail," Harry spat in disgust, "But I got him. Tonks is taking care of him right now."

Harry turned his head and found Tonks walking towards them with the cage in her hands, and when she caught sight of them she excitedly shook the cage, much to Wormtails outrage.

"You captured him?" Hermione asked in shock, her eyes following the rat in the cage.

Harry nodded and was startled when Hermione flung herself at him, knocking an amused Ginny out of the way, who shook her head along with her brother at Hermione's behavior.

"You did it! Sirius will be free in no time!" Hermione yelled ecstatically.

The words hit Harry hard. Sirius would be free after fourteen years of imprisonment and hiding. Harry beamed and hugged Hermione harder before pulling away and looking to McGonagall.

"Is it true?" Harry asked, wanting to be certain.

McGonagall smiled kindly at him, "Yes Potter. I'd say by the end of this week Mr. Black will be free."

Before Harry could reply he felt a stab of anguish in his scar, the pain so bad he let out a cry before he fell to the ground, startling the people around him. Harry knew they were shouting his name and were asking what was wrong, but he found himself falling into Voldemort's mind, his mind filled with the image Voldemort was looking towards. After a moment Harry fought to return to his mind, knowing well enough that Voldemort had wanted him to see the image, and with a gasp he opened his eyes to see Dumbledore staring down at him worriedly.

"Harry, your scar-" Ron started to say.

"It was staged, the attack was staged. Voldemort just took Azkaban." Harry said in a hoarse voice.

As Harry started to lose consciousness he heard the sharp intake of breath from the people surrounding him, and as his burning red scar started to fade he lost consciousness from the pain of it.

* * *

Harry woke as they entered the castle's doors on a stretcher, and struggled to sit up. Ron put his hand on Harry's chest in an attempt to push him down, by Harry fought him with a glare.

"Lay back down, Madam Pomfrey will patch you up." Ron told him, informing the other's Harry was awake.

Ginny turned around and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Harry smiled weakly and rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand, his smile fading as he felt small cuts on the back on her hand.

"A spell hit the wall behind us and destroyed it, I got a few cuts from the debris." Ginny told him, noticing his reaction.

Looking closer Harry could see a few small cuts on her arms and one on her cheek, which angered him. Ginny had gotten hurt. Looking towards Ron and Hermione he noticed they too were littered with small cuts, but to his relief nothing major. Harry closed his eyes and vaguely listening to the people talking around him about the attack and Azkaban. As he heard a set of doors open in front of him he opened his eyes, the ceiling of the Hospital Wing greeting him as McGonagall led his stretcher to the closest bed and set him down on it, and he instantly propped himself into a comfortable sitting position.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat on a bed to the right of his so he could still see him, and as he waited for Pomfrey he noticed they weren't the only ones in the room. He could hear other kids in the Wing as well, some talking and other groaning from their injuries. Looking around Harry recognized a few, like Colin Creevey who was sporting a black eye and swollen lip, and Susan Bones who had her left arm in a sling, but the others were older kids he didn't know. After waiting almost a good ten minutes Madam Pomfrey made her way over to him, supplies ready in her hand.

"Professor Tonks told me about your injuries." She explained, handing him a purple potion as she grabbed a bandage roll and poured a foul smelling potion into the fabric.

"What's-" He started to ask, holding the purple potion up.

"After effects of the Cruciatus." Madam Pomfrey told him as she used her wand to cut away the makeshift bandage Tonks made, and placed the new bandage over it.

Harry's eyes watered as the potion soaked into the bandage stung at the cuts on his shoulder, but didn't let a sound out as she continued to roll the bandage to his arm. As she was placing the bandage onto his arm he noticed Professor Flitwick come over to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny with potions for them, and after they drank it down he watched n fascination as their cuts started to fade into they became little pink scars. After Pomfrey finished with the bandage she handed Harry the same potion the others had been given, and as Harry drained the potion he felt the immediate effects on his cuts and his back, and felt much better.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey finished healing his wounds she tried to make him lay down on the bed, insisting he needed rest, and Harry shook his head.

"I can rest in my dorm room, can I please go back to my dorm?" Harry asked, not wanting to stay in the Hospital Wing any longer.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips as she studied him, her eyes going from his face to his injuries, but she sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Fine, you can return to your dormitory. But the second you aren't feeling well you make sure you get yourself back to me." She warned with a small smile.

"Deal." Harry said, and with the help of Ron he heaved himself off the bed.

Ginny came over and put her arm around his waist, telling Ron that she could help Harry by herself, ignoring Harry's groan of embarrassment, and together her, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way up to Gryffindor Tower silently, the shock from the days events still fresh in the minds.

* * *

A/N: I didn't expect to finish the chapter so fast, or have it longer than usual. Please review and if you have have any suggestions for fanfiction please let me know, I've run out of reading material!


	29. Chapter 29: Leads

Classes were cancelled for the week much to Harry's relief, which brought him guilt as well. Two students had been killed in the attack on Hogsmeade, both were two younger Ravenclaw students, and black banners had been hung in the Great Hall in respect for the lost students. Hestia Jones, a member of the Order, had been killed in the attack also by one of the burning buildings collapsing before she could escape. He knew that the teachers that had been in the Order or knew her were grieving other her death, which made Harry feel sad and guilty for not grieving, but he hadn't known her well before her death. The school know felt glum and darker, the war finally making an impact on the students inside, some more than others.

Harry himself felt the rage he had towards the war and Voldemort turned into fury, and all he could think about were the Horcruxes that anchored Voldemort to life. Especially the breakout at Azkaban, it was outraged Harry. Three people had died so that the bastard could have a few Death Eaters, people who had ruined so many lives. Harry knew that Neville had been affected by the breakout as well. Bellatrix Lestrage, the woman who had drove his parent's into insanity, was once again on the loose.

He also kept thinking about the Final Battle, where the Prophesy would come into play and seal the fate of the Wizarding World. But this time instead of sulking he told his friends what was on his mind and what was bothering him, and which to his surprise he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders when he talked about it, he didn't feel so alone. Harry would of talked to Dumbledore about it, except he couldn't find him anywhere in the castle. McGonagall had told him the Headmaster was any on business, and Harry guessed it had to do with Pettigrew and getting Sirius freed. He hoped so. The thought of Sirius being able to walk around a free man again filled Harry with joy, he wanted to be able to live with Sirius and have a normal relationship without worrying about the Ministry.

It was later in the week and Harry was bored, he had finished all his work for his classes and Quidditch practice wasn't scheduled until tomorrow, and the weather wasn't nice enough to walked around the grounds. Ginny had went down to visit Hagrid with Hermione, who wanted to help the giant schedule his lesson plans. Ron, Ginny and Harry understood she wanted to do something useful and need to be busy so that she didn't overthink too much, and didn't made a comment on it. Ron had gone to the owlery to send a letter to his parents and had promised to help with twins with their latest product after. Harry contemplated on whether he should try to get ahead on his schoolwork since he had the time, and shuddered at the thought. I'm turning into Hermione, he thought with a shake of his head.

He thought about writing to Sirius, but then came up with something better; just go to Grimmauld Place and talk to Sirius. Tonks had always said her fireplace was open for him to use, and he knew Sirius had to be going crazy, waiting for the news on his freedom. Heaving himself off the couch in the Common Room Harry headed towards the Fat Lady's portrait and opened the door, and walked through the hallways into he reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Harry knocked on the door and called out Tonks' name, but he got no response. Hesitantly he pushed the door opened and peeked in, but he didn't see her sitting at her desk.

Is she in her office? Harry walked to her office door and knocked, pressing his ear to her door and listened. He heard nothing. Looking around the classroom and making sure he was alone he opened the door and walked inside her office. It was as empty as her classroom, and Harry went to her desk and wrote a note telling her he went to Grimmauld Place for a while. He went over the fireplace mantel and grabbed a handful of Floopowder and threw it into the fire, and hurried inside the fireplace.

"Grimmauld Place!" Harry shouted over the roar of the fire, and felt himself sucked into the floo network.

As soon as he entered the fireplace in Grimmauld Place he stumbled out and almost fell on his face, but caught himself at the last second and straightened out, taking his glasses off and wiping the ash out of them. Harry looked around and found the living room empty, and walked towards the hallway.

"Sirius?" He called out, peeking through the open doors in the hall and founding them empty as well.

As Harry headed towards the kitchen he finally heard voices that he recognized; Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Mad Eye, and Tonks. He knew right away it couldn't of been an Order Meeting, more people would be there. With his curiosity intrigued Harry walked towards the swinging door that led into the kitchen and knocked shyly. The voices inside the room stopped at the sound of the knock, and after a moment Sirius called out,

"Whose there?"

Instead of answering Harry pushed the swinging doors open and walked in, taking in the looks of surprise he was receiving.

"Harry?" Remus asked in surprise, rising from his chair at the dining table.

"I didn't know Sirius was having company over, I can leave and come back later-" Harry started.

"No, it's fine," Sirius interrupted, "We promised to include you in this, you might as well take a seat."

Harry hesitated by the door, shocked at what Sirius had said. What was going on? Harry walked towards the table and sat in a chair between Sirius and Mad-Eye, aware all eyes were on him.

"What's going on?" Harry finally asked, feeling uneasy.

Sensing his unease Remus smiled at him from across the table and spoke before anyone else could, "We found another Horcrux, and have a lead on where another one might be."

Harry felt his mouth open in shock, surprised by Remus' bluntness and words. Horcrux? They found another one? Millions of questions started racing through Harry's mind, but his mouth could only ask one.

"Where?" He managed to ask.

"We found a ring that belonged to Voldemort's grandfather in an old shack by Little Hangleton area, and I believe that Voldemort's mother grew up in the shack as well." Dumbledore replied as he placed the ring on the counter.

Harry reached out to touch the ring but stopped, looking towards Dumbledore for approval, and when he received a nod Harry grabbed the ring. Just like with the locket Harry shuddered, but did not feel the strange little heartbeat that he had felt with the locket, and presumed it was because the Horcrux inside was gone this time. Harry studied the ring carefully, bringing it closer to his eyes to inspect. The ring itself was simple; a black cut stone placed in the middle of the silver band, nothing of the ring looked expensive or extraordinary. Looking closer Harry noticed a thin line down the black stone and figured that it was where the ring was hit at to extract the Horcrux.

"You told me before that Voldemort picked particular items to his Horcrux, so what's so important about this ring to him?" Harry asked, placing the ring back on the table.

"Correct, he does pick important objects to place part of his soul in. Like I said before the ring belonged to his grandfather, Marvolo, his mother's father. He choose the ring because it belonged to part of his family and it showed that the family was descended from Slytherin." Dumbledore explained, pocketing the ring.

Harry was startled by the fact the ring had belonged to Voldemort's family, he had never really thought about Voldemort having a family. He knew the story about his father and that his mother died because of what Voldemort had told him in the graveyard, although Voldemort hadn't planned for Harry to leave with the information alive.

"How long have you had the ring?"

"Three days." Sirius answered, his eyes looking towards Dumbledore.

"You found it on the day of the attack?" Harry asked after doing the math inside his head.

Dumbledore nodded grimly, "I had been looking into Voldemort's past for a few months now and discovered the existence of the Gaunt Shack, and decided to take a look. I never thought that Voldemort would try to take a hold of Azkaban so quickly. I didn't make it to the castle back in time."

Harry could literally feel the guilt oozing off of Dumbledore, and he sympathized. He knew of the guilt that was gnawing at Dumbledore because he couldn't stop the deaths that happened. Harry quickly moved on to his next question as the dead body of Cedric flashed in his head.

"You mentioned having a lead on another Horcrux?" Harry asked, his eyes flickering back to Dumbledore.

"Yes. When the attack happened and you told me that Voldemort had used it as a diversion so he could take hold of Azkaban it got me thinking; who in Azkaban are his most loyal followers? The one that stuck out the most was Bellatrix Lestrange, a loyal Death Eater since she graduated from Hogwarts. I thought that since she has been amongst the Death Eaters for quite some time that maybe Voldemort would of entrusted one of his Horcruxes, just as he had with Lucius, who happens to be Bellatrix's brother-in-law. And then I thought, where would she of kept it? The attack on Gringott's came to mind, maybe he had attacked it so he could retrieve his Horcrux. We obviously know that he failed, and now that he has succeeded with breaking out followers from Azkaban that he may try to enter the bank again."

Harry stared at Dumbledore wide-eyed, overwhelmed by all the unexpected information he had received. A Horcrux in Gringotts? Looking around the table Harry noticed that no one else shared the same surprised look that he had, and realized Dumbledore had probably told him before Harry showed up.

"Okay," Harry said, sounding slightly breathless, "Next question, how do we get the Horcrux?"

"I'm glad you asked," Sirius spoke up, and Harry's eyes snapped over towards him, "We don't think that Bellatrix would of put it in the Lestrange Vault when Voldemort gave her the Horcrux, henceforth she would of put it in the Black Vault, believing no one but herself could of retrieved it. She knew I would want nothing to do with the Blacks, and my brother had already died when she out the Horcrux in the Vault. We don't know which Horcrux is in there, either the Cup or something of Ravenclaw's."

"So, what you're saying is you're going to retrieve the Horcrux?" Harry asked slowly, putting the pieces together.

Sirius nodded his head, "I having Remus come with me when I do, which should be sometime this weekend. I have a court date tomorrow to prove that I'm innocent and shove Peter into that hellhole called Azkaban."

"Wait, do you think he'll stay there? Or will Voldemort try to break him out as well?" Harry asked worriedly.

Sirius smiled, "Wormtail was only a servant to Voldemort's needs, hardly a loyal follower. So I would assume not. Voldemort wouldn't go through all that trouble for him."

Harry allowed himself to relax and gave Sirius a wide smile, his excitement for his godfather's freedom rising.

"I never did get the chance to thank you Harry," Sirius said, reaching over and patting Harry on the shoulder, "You're the reason I'm finally getting my freedom back."

Harry blushed as the other people in the room muttered their agreements, and ducked his head slightly, "I just want that slimy rat to get what he deserves."

"Don't we all, lad." Mad-Eye spoke up, both eyes focusing on him, "You're shaping up to be a great Auror, if you still want to be one when you're older."

Harry turned a shade brighter, not used to being praised or thanked. Noticing his discomfort Remus and Dumbledore chuckled, which Harry glared at them for.

"Alright, back to business before Harry gets brighter than the Weasley's hair. After we get this Horcrux from the vault, are there anymore leads?" Tonks asked.

Harry felt his face returning to it's natural color and looked over at her, finding his eyes drawn to her and Remus' clasped hands resting on her chair, and raised his eyebrows at the werewolf, who winked at Harry and nodded his head towards Tonks, indicating he should be listening.

"- You mentioned the snake Dumbledore, but it was already discussed that we wouldn't kill it until the Final Battle, seeing as it would be difficult to get hold of the snake at the moment, and killing her would give away we know about his Horcruxes. We have four already, including whatever Horcrux is in the Black Vault. You said Voldemort would choose seven in total, seeing as it's the strongest magical number. That leaves two unknown, since we know about the snake. Any ideas?"

"You said that Voldemort would try to use the Founders items, like the locket that belonged to Slytherin. We think that Hufflepuffs cup could be in the vault or something of Ravenclaw's. What about anything belonging to Gryffindor?" Mad-Eye questioned, his electric blue eyes swiveling into the back of his head.

"The only thing's that belonged to Godric were the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor, and I own both. They can't be Horcruxes because neither of them have left my office for over fifty years." Dumbledore told him, his hand on his chin as he sunk into deep thought.

"C'mon Harry, I have something I want to discuss with you while they figure this out." Sirius whispered to Harry, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

Harry gave Sirius a confused look but didn't ask for an explanation as he followed Sirius out of the kitchen and into the living room. Sirius seemed nervous as he paced in the room, grabbing a half empty bottle of Firewhisky off the table and ignored the cups that surrounded it, and took a big swing from the bottle before setting it down. The drink seemed to give him liquid courage, and he sat down on the couch next to Harry and threw his arm around his godson's shoulders.

"So, with this trial coming up it's got me thinking. I believe with all the evidence we have that I'll be given my freedom, though that could be my arrogance talking. But anyways, when the trial is down and I'm free, what do you think about moving out of your aunt and uncles and living with me?" Sirius said the last part hesitantly, almost shyly looking at Harry.

Harry sat there stunned, looking at his godfather in disbelief. He wanted Harry to live with him? He was finally free of the Dursley's? No more Privet Drive. It was hard for Harry to wrap his head around. Sirius took his stunned silence the wrong way, and started to mutter that Harry didn't have to. Before Harry was conscious of doing so, he threw himself into Sirius' arms and hugged him hard.

"Of course I'll move in! When can we get my stuff from the Dursley's? Can I pick what room I get?" Harry asked excitedly, his mind racing.

Sirius laughed and pulled away to put a finger to Harry's lips to silence him, "Slow down! I'm not free yet! I'm glad that you're excited though. It's just a thought. The moment I'm cleared you can come over and pick whatever room you want, although I'll probably move out of this dump and pick a better home, with you're help of course." Sirius shared Harry's excitement as his own mind raced, thinking of all the new possibilities.

Harry let out a laugh of delight, "Yeah, I'd really like that."

A deep chuckle from someone in the doorway made their pair look up, seeing Remus walk in with a warm smile on his face.

"So I'm guessing Sirius asked you to move in?" He asked, taking the free seat on the couch next to Harry.

Harry nodded frantically while Sirius said, "You know, the offer is still up Moony, I want you to move in too."

Harry glanced over at Sirius before he looked over at Remus, who sighed as he shook his head.

"Why not? I think it's a brilliant idea." Harry said.

"It's not brilliant. The Ministry won't let you live with a werewolf when there's a minor in the house. Plus it's not safe." Remus told him grimly, unconsciously touching the scars that ran on his face.

"Bullshit," Harry called, ignoring Sirius who half-heartedly tried to scold him, "The Ministry shouldn't stick their nose where it doesn't belong." Harry said fiercely.

Remus gave him a brief smile, "It's not safe." He repeated.

"Neither is destroying a Horcrux, but I did it anyway." Harry snapped back, starting to get annoyed with Remus' excuses.

Remus looked over at Sirius, silently begging his best friend to help him, but Sirius shook his head as he finished the last of the Firewhisky left in the bottle. Running his hand through his hair Remus looked towards Harry again, finding his eyes, so like his mothers, pleading with him, and found his defenses crumbling. With a sigh of defeat, Remus slowly nodded his head.

"About bloody time." Harry muttered as he turned, giving Remus a quick hug.

Remus was shocked by the embrace but hurriedly returned it, clapping Harry on the back. Harry then threw his other arm around Sirius' shoulder, who was shocked as spilled some of drink down his chin and into his shirt. Harry ignored it and hugged them both close, both ecstatic and startled by the thought of moving in with Sirius and Remus.

"One big happy family." Harry said in mocking baby voice.

"With the baby in the middle." Sirius said, using his free hand to pinch Harry's cheek.

Harry took his arm away from Sirius and slapped his hand away, then rubbed his cheek where Sirius had pinched him.

"Is the meeting over?" Harry asked Remus, slapping away Sirius' hand as it tried to pinch him again.

"Yes, we agreed that the plan to get the next Horcrux is still in affect, and Dumbledore is still trying to figure out what the last two Horcruxes could be. Tonks and Dumbledore left together to Hogwarts while Mad-Eye went home." Remus told them both.

At the mention of the mission to get the next Horcrux sent a chill through Harry, who suppressed a shudder and found that his playful mood had evaporated.

"Be careful, okay? Don't put yourselves at risk if you can help it." Harry told the two older men on the couch, genuine concern etched on his face.

Sirius lost his playful mood at the tone in his godson's voice, and looked over at Remus for a moment, finding a stern look upon his face.

"We'll be fine Harry, all I want you to worry about is yourself. Remus and I know what we're dealing with." Sirius told him as Remus nodded his agreement.

Harry sighed and managed to give them a small smile, "Alright. Just remember what I said," Looking towards the clock on the mantel, Harry found he had been here longer than he planned, "Sorry to end on a bad note, but I should be getting back. Dinner starts in ten minutes and they'll be looking for me."

Sirius nor Remus had to ask who 'they' were, but nodded in agreement as they all got off the couch, and shared goodbyes. They waited until Harry left through the fireplace before Remus turned to Sirius, disappoint radiating off of him.

"We don't know what we're dealing with." He said, shaking his head.

"We have a pretty good idea." Sirius replied, sounding like a child who had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Stupid mutt." Remus muttered before he walked away, leaving a disgrunted Sirius behind him.


	30. Chapter 30: Don't Shoot the Messenger

It was the first week of April when the article announcing Sirius' trial came out. With all the overwhelming evidence it was hard to make a case against Sirius, and Minister Scrimgeour announced Sirius was free of all charges against him, and Peter Pettigrew had been given a life sentence in Azkaban. The article hadn't given much information on the trial since no reporters were allowed in, but Harry didn't care, he knew all he had to do was ask Sirius and he would know. Harry once again was in the spot light because of the trial, but he didn't mind this time, he was ecstatic that his godfather was finally free. Although he had to admit he was starting to get annoyed with all the questions that the student's were asking him, and for once he was glad when a teacher intervened to stop their harassment.

The downside was that Voldemort was angered by the capture of his Death Eater and the freedom granted to Sirius, and decided to take it out on Harry in the only way he possibly could; more nightmares. Tonks' lessons in Occulemcy had helped greatly but Harry still found it difficult to block Voldemort out when he was sleeping, and Voldemort used that to his advantage. Not only did the mysterious corridor haunt his dreams, but now the nightmare's he had had after he visited the Chamber of Secrets in November came back. It didn't affect him as bad as it had before since he kept his promise and informed Sirius about what was happening, and he felt more reassured than before. But they were called nightmare's for a reason.

Because of the nightmare's Harry threw himself into Quidditch training, wanting to beat Ravenclaw and to distract himself from his thoughts. Ginny was also a good distraction, she calmed him in a way his best friends couldn't, and was also an excellent kisser, which was another way to keep his mind off things. Classes managed to take most of his time as well, with the homework they were handed, the teachers finishing up on what they would need for the OWL's exam's before they were to begin reviewing.

The bell announcing the end of class snapped Harry out of his thoughts, and he gathered his work sheet and book into his bag before standing and walking towards Ron and Hermione. Harry was somewhat surprised when he found them talking with Neville in quiet voices, all the them huddled close by the door.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked.

Ron jumped since his back was turned towards Harry, but Hermione and Neville greeted him with small smiles.

"Ehh, kind of. Let's get out of the classroom and I'll tell you." Hermione said, grabbing Harry's elbow and walking towards the door with a grip on him.

"Whoa, whoa. What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking towards Neville and Ron.

"It's not that big of a deal, Hermione. Luna had mentioned that she heard it in passing -" Neville started to explain, but was cut off.

"I still don't like the sound of it, especially with what's been happening lately." Hermione said.

"Hold on a minute," Harry yanked free of Hermione's hold, "Will you tell me what's going on?" He asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Luna heard that-"

"Well, well. Isn't it Potty and Weasel and the Mudblood. Longbottom's decided to join your group, now has he?" A familiar voiced drawled.

Harry gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Malfoy. Haven't heard from you in a while, I was afraid you'd lost your touch."

Malfoy snapped on Harry, "Well, we all have better things to do than help your dog avoid the kennel."

Harry laughed, ignoring the angered looks on his friends faces, "Is that what's pissed you off this time? That Sirius is free?" He asked.

"I'm not the only one, I can tell by your lack of sleep that the Dark Lord isn't pleased either." Malfoy said gleefully.

Harry paled slightly, "What the hell are you going on about?"

"Please, word has gotten around you and the Dark Lord share a mental connection. I hope it hurts." Malfoy added with relish.

"And who told you that? Daddy? Or one of your other Death Eater buddies?" Harry hissed out through clenched teeth.

Neville paled at the mention of Harry's connection to Voldemort, not knowing about it till that moment. Hermione and Ron glanced at each other nervously, knowing that Harry was getting angry, which Voldemort usually fueled.

"I don't care to share where I get my information from, " Malfoy said evasively, "But I've heard that since the breakout at Azkaban the Dark Lord is in a greater hurry to finish building his army, and when he succeeds, well, I hope there's a plot ready for you right by your parents."

That had been the last straw for Harry, who lunged at Malfoy but was held back by Ron and Neville, who fought hard to keep him back. Harry called Malfoy some very colorful names as the ferret laughed and walked away, only to turn around and get one last dig in before he left.

"I'd be careful about what your planning, the Dark Lord has spies everywhere." And with that Malfoy left.

Ron and Neville finally let go of Harry, who was panting from the effort to throw them off of him and his anger, and turned to confront them.

"What the hell? Why did you hold me back?" Harry asked in outrage.

"You would of ripped him apart Harry! I know what you get like when your angry." Ron exclaimed.

"You should of let me! Did you hear what he said about my parents?" Harry asked.

"Of course we did, but you don't need to get in trouble for killing Malfoy, we have bigger things to deal with." Hermione cut in before Ron could answer.

"And what is that?" Harry snarled, and instantly regretted it when Hermione flinched.

"Did you hear what he said about being careful with what your planning? Was that his way of telling us Voldemort knows something?" Hermione told him, and watched as a look of understanding crossed Harry's face before fear replaced it.

"Do you think he knows?" Harry asked, his eyes flickering towards Neville for a second before going back to Hermione.

"I don't know, but we need to inform someone." Hermione said worriedly.

Before anyone else could speak Neville cut in, "I'll let you three go, I'm gonna let Luna know that what she heard was right."

Harry snapped his eyes back towards Neville, "What did she say?" He asked.

"She heard that Malfoy was going to try to corner you and taunt you somehow on You-Know-Who's orders."

"Great, Voldemort has to send his servants to taunt me for him? That's just fantastic." Harry said with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Neville flinched at the name while Ron barely hid his own, still not completely comfortable with using the name.

"I'll see you in the Common Room later." Neville said with his hand slightly raised in farewell, and left.

Harry started to walk away as well, internally conflicted whether he should go to Dumbledore or Tonks with the information, but then decided on Dumbledore, knowing that he needed to know more than Tonks, and turned down the corridor that would lead him to the entrance to the Headmaster's Office.

"If Voldemort had somehow found out about the Horcruxes, I'm dead, I won't have a chance against him if he gets a hold of the last three." Since Sirius and Remus had went to Gringgot's last week and destroyed the cup, and thankfully with no difficulties since they knew what to expect.

With Ron and Hermione behind him panting as they tried to keep up, Harry stopped in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office and gave the password (Lemon Drop) and hurried up the stairs without waiting for his friends. Harry only stopped when he reached the door and caught his breath, allowing Ron and Hermione a chance to catch up with him, who both were panting as well.

"I never knew you could walk so fast." Ron said as he leaned against the wall.

"I'm in a hurry if you couldn't tell," Harry snapped, but he instantly regretted it, "Sorry, I'm just upset."

Ron nodded, "Understandable."

Harry managed to give Ron a guilty grin before he turned and knocked on the door, and with impatience waited for an invitation.

"Enter." Dumbledore called.

Harry opened the door with Ron and Hermione behind him, which surprised Dumbledore for a moment before he regained his composure, and smiled at the group in front of him.

"Good afternoon, I must say I didn't expect to see you all in my office today." Dumbledore said, his eyes flickering to each person.

"It's important, sir." Harry told him, a sense of urgency in his voice that Dumbledore quickly picked up on.

"Continue." Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand.

"I had a ... Confrontation with Malfoy a few moments ago, and he hinted that Voldemort was almost finished building his army and is getting ready to attack. I think he might of hinted that Voldemort knows we know about the Horcruxes." Harry explained.

Dumbledore stroked his beard as he stood in front of Harry, and after a moment gestured for all three of them to take a seat, and as they did he walked around his desk and sat down, and pulled a piece of parchment out of one of his draws.

"I don't believe Voldemort knows about the Horcruxes," Dumbledore started, and held a finger up when Harry began to open his mouth, "I believe that Voldemort would of attacked us worse than he already has in revenge, and I know you would of felt his anger if he had figured it out. From what I know all you've been having or small, sudden, sharp pains in your scar a few times a day as well as the dreams."

Harry nodded his head at Dumbledore's words, "Right, but I still believe that he's going to begin a battle soon, the last one I think." Harry muttered, taking in a shaky breath.

"Elaborate." Dumbledore asked, both of them unaware of the incredulous looks Ron and Hermione gave Harry.

"Like you said a few months ago, Voldemort needed some of his most loyal Death Eaters for his army and now he has them, the giants have sided with him as well as most of the werewolves, what else is there to gain? He's ready, he knows I have a huge disadvantage seeing as I'm only fifteen and he's just about immortal. I think he'll attack in the next month or so." Harry responded, and felt relieved as he said his thought aloud.

"Don't be stupid, Harry. Voldemort wouldn't attack right now, he'd have to plan, to think out - " Hermione started to interject.

"He's been planning this attack from the moment I was born, probably even before then!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked away from him, and Harry knew she was upset, knowing he was right. Ron just looked dumbfounded at Harry, as if shocked by the truth of Harry's words and didn't want to believe them.

"You all know I'm right. You need to tell the Order everything I just told you, sir. We need to prepare as well, because I know Voldemort won't fight fair. We need to have every advantage we can get." Harry told Dumbledore, feeling a sense of dread in the it of his stomach as he thought over what they would need to do.

Dumbledore kept silent for a few moments, his eyes studying Harry, who had turned into 'The Chosen One' right before his eyes, the leader for the Wizarding World.

"You're right, and I will. Now I know you will want some time to think over the meaning of your words and what the final battle will be like, and I suggest you are left to your thoughts," He glanced towards Ron and Hermione, who blushed under his gaze, "But I need to share something with you."

Dumbledore looked down at the piece of parchment he had grabbed earlier and put it in front of him, and adjusted the glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose, "After discovering the Chamber of Secrets I have been searching the castle for any other hidden rooms that I may of not known of, and a thought struck me the other day. Why not ask one of the House Elves, who know the castle better than anyone alive? So I did, and one suggested a room called the Room of Requirement, and told me the location and how to enter it. I did as instructed and searched the room, and after a few days of doing so I discovered a very curious object."

Dumbledore reached down and opened another draw, and pulled out an ancient looking box, and slowly he opened the lid. Dumbledore grabbed the object carefully out of the box and set it into his desk. It was a tiara with a raven spreading it's wings, and small writing was inscription on the bottom, but it was too small for Harry to read. It was Ravenclaw's diadem, one of the Horcruxes they had been looking for.

"Voldemort hid it in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked in amazement, inching closer to see the tiara better.

"Correct, he believed he was the only one to know of the room's existence." Dumbledore replied.

"Arrogant bastard." Ron muttered so low only Harry and Hermione could hear.

Harry and Ron kept a safe distance from the Horcrux, not wanting to get closer to anything that contained a part of Voldemort inside it. After a moment Hermione inched away from it and leaned back in her chair, but still kept her eye on the diadem.

"Later this evening I will be destroying it with the Sword, and we only have two left. The snake and something else, but I have recently thought of another theory of what it might be," Dumbledore averted his gaze from all three of them and once again opened the draw on his desk, "I want all three of you to carry around one of these at all times, and I'll give Harry an extra one so he can pass it onto Ginny," Dumbledore placed four Basilisk fangs onto his desk, "As you said the final battle is approaching, and we need to be ready for anything. When the times comes and any of you get the chance to destroy the snake, I want to try."

Harry grabbed one of the fangs off the desk and studied it closely while Ron and Hermione hesitated before they grabbed their own, both of them torn between interest and horror at the fang, and knew what it was.

"Thank you, sir." Harry said as he placed the last fang inside his pocket for Ginny.

"Not a problem. Now, as I said earlier you must have a lot on your mind, and I will let you go so you can think over it. I suggest you both do the same as well." Dumbledore pointed towards Ron and Hermione in turn, "Sorry this couldn't be a more light conversation, but it was unavoidable."

Harry nodded in reply and muttered a quick goodbye as he stood from his chair and walked towards the stairs, barely hearing his friends give Dumbledore a goodbye before they followed him, all of them silent as they walked to the Gryffindor Common room. Before Hermione could give the fat lady the password Ron stopped her by raising his finger and moving in front of the portrait.

"Now, I know what Dumbledore said about leaving you alone, and I know your itching to be alone. But first things first, how much does my sister know?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed, "Not much, I told her about the Horcruxes briefly, but she knows I'm preparing for the battle. She doesn't know about what we just talked about though." He explained.

"Are you gonna tell her?"

"Of course, I'll probably tell her later tonight. But I need time to think, all of this is weighing down on me and I need to process what I'm going to do." Harry told them both, running his fingers through his hair.

"We'll leave you to think about it, but if something happens scar or dream wise please tell us, we won't freak out." Hermione said, picking up on his distress.

Harry nodded his thanks and gave the fat lady the password to get into the common room, and when he entered he made a beeline to the fifth year dormitory, knowing Ron would leave him to his thoughts and make sure no one bothered him. Harry plopped down on his bed and let out a breath, and ran a hand over his face. _So much to think about, so little time_. Harry's mind kept jumping from thought to thought on what he needed to do, how he was going to take Voldemort out, wondering if he would survive, what would happen to his family... He mind kept going through the possibilities, and he didn't like most of them. His was mostly left alone as he slowly started to piece together a plan, his scar giving a few painful flares every once in a while.

Harry knew the probability of his death and accepted it, he had always known it was most likely to happen. The problem was Voldemort, and how to get rid of him. Maybe Harry could hit him with a slicing curse and slit his throat open? Or conjure a knife and direct it to Voldemort's heart? Could he bring himself to use the Killing Curse? But he could only do that when all the Horcruxes were destroyed, and now only two remained. The snake and something else. Harry knew Dumbledore had a good idea on what the last Horcrux was, but frustratingly Dumbledore wouldn't tell. What was he hiding from Harry?

* * *

Harry fell into a fitful sleep that night, but he eventually did fall asleep. Earlier before he had fallen asleep he had talked briefly with Ginny about what happened. Ginny had already known most of it from Ron and Hermione, who took it upon themselves to explain most of it to her while Harry was lost in thought on his bed, and after a hour of talking and explaining, Ginny, Hermione and Ron came up into the dormitory and sat with Harry, discussing the Horcruxes and when Voldemort might possibly try to begin the battle.

The conversation that they all had haunted Harry's mind, never wanting to believe he would actually have a talk with his friends on how he would try to save the Wizarding World. It was a lot of pressure. And the Prophesy, could he actually fulfill it? Harry wanted answers, but dreaded how he would have to get them.

Harry turned in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent when his scar gave a twinge of pain, his dream of failing all his OWL's changing into a scene of a group of cloaked figures surrounding him, all of them sitting on their knees and with their heads bowed. Harry smiled and stroked the wand in his fingers, the cool wood felt comfortable underneath his fingertips, and gripped it tightly in his hand.

"Welcome back, my faithful servants. It brings me great pleasure to see you all back where you belong."

Bellatrix gave a small giggle from where she was kneeled, and Harry's smile grew.

"Now, first order of business. Malfoy, have you contacted your son today?" Harry asked, his eyes snapping towards the blonde.

"Yes my lord," Lucius replied, "Draco's letter came a few moment's before the meeting began. He spoke with Potter and passed along your message."

"Very good," Harry said with a sinister smile, "I want him to know what's coming. I want him to be scared."

Harry waved his wand and his throne chair appeared before him, and he gladly sat down on it, his eyes looking down at the still kneeling Death Eaters.

"Second order of business - " Harry started, but suddenly cut off, "Potter..." He muttered, a look of realization crossing his features.

"My lord?" Bellatrix asked, finally looking up at her master.

"He's here, he's listening in on the conversation." Harry said angrily.

Harry became aware of what was happening a moment too late and tried to wake up from his dream, but Voldemort somehow seized him and held him in place, and Harry felt fear grip him as well.

"I hope you understood Malfoy's message very clear Potter. I'll be seeing you before you know it, and I'll be the last thing you ever see."

Voldemort started to chuckle as a growing pain began in Harry's head, tormenting him as he tried to grasp control over his mind again.

"Goodnight Potter, sweet dreams." Voldemort said mockingly, and released the control he had on Harry's mind.

As Harry regained control the pain hit worse than it had in his nightmare, jerking him awake and sending him crashing out of his bed and onto the floor, and a soft groan left his mouth.

"Harry?" Ron asked groggily, and Harry heard heard him getting out of bed, "What happened?"

Before Harry knew it Ron placed a hand on his shoulder and helped him off the floor and directed him back onto the bed, and Harry could faintly see the worry on Ron's face.

"I was in Voldemort's mind again," Harry started, remembering his promise to Hermione earlier that day, "And he somehow figured it out that I was there listening in and held me there so he could tell me that he'll be seeing me soon."

Harry felt a small flare of pain in his scar and winced, and rubbed his hand over it. Ron felt his eye widen at Harry's words and quickly tried to say something comforting.

"At least we know he's planning to attack and it won't be a complete surprise, and we have some time to prepare. But don't keep torturing yourself by thinking that you're the only one when you're not, we're all preparing. Try to go back to sleep and we can all worry about this in the morning when we're actually awake." Ron whispered, not wanting to wake up their dorm mates.

Harry chuckled and nodded at Ron's words, "Your right, I'll see you in the morning."

Ron clapped Harry on the back and give him a small smile before he sat off the bed and returned to his own, and Harry laird himself back down on his bed and pulled the comforter back on him_. Worry about it tomorrow_, he repeated inside his head. Harry closed his eyes and was shocked when he realized how tired he was, and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

A/N: The end is coming soon! I'm not sure how many chapters are left but I'm excited to write them. Happy reading!


	31. Chapter 31: Speak of the Devil

The rest of April consisted of Defense and Battle preparation for Harry, who had been relieved of Care of Magical Creatures, and unfortunately, Quidditch, to do so. Ginny had been the reserve Seeker for the Gryffindor Team, but Angelina hadn't taken the sudden switch so easily. Even though Harry desperately wanted back on the team he knew what was more important, and so he threw himself into his training. Harry had many volunteer teachers that came to the castle when they weren't busy and taught him a handful of things; defensive spells (most of which boarded close to dark magic), combat fighting (it was almost like muggle defense classes), and he had been taught most of Voldemort's technique he had used in the past from the people that had actually saw him in the flesh.

Harry gained knowledge as well as some muscle from his training, which hadn't gone unnoticed by Ginny or most of the female population at Hogwarts, but much sleep and most of his free time had been lost. His friends understood and tried their hardest to be there for him, even if it just meant they hung around while he trained, or even tried to train with him. Harry had been immensely grateful, and felt that they were the only reason he hadn't gone insane with all that had been going on recently.

When the month changed to May, Harry felt his unease increase and had been constantly checking his pockets for the fang and his wand, his unease had created a paranoia even worse than Sirius'. He knew Ron, Hermione and Ginny as well as most of the Order that knew about the Horcruxes kept a Basilisk fang on themselves as well, since they didn't have any information on when Voldemort had planned to attack, not even Snape knew exactly when.

What Snape _did_ know was that Voldemort had been meeting with the giants and werewolves, and was most likely planning battle strategy. The Order was planning too, and Harry knew most of it, but only really focused on the parts that involved him. The days that they mainly talked about the plans Harry had vivid nightmares, almost as if Voldemort was taunting him. But Harry wouldn't allow himself to loose any confidence in the plans, he was too stubborn to allow Voldemort to win _that_ battle

It was the first of May and it was Sirius' turn to train Harry, who enjoyed when his godfather came to the school. Even though they mostly trained, Harry didn't miss the opportunity to talk and get some things off of his chest, which secretly pleased Sirius, who had been glad that Harry trusted him enough to confide in. Harry and his teachers trained in a room called the Room of Requirement, which Dumbledore had suggested they train in when he found it on the Horcrux hunt, and Harry couldn't of agreed more. The Room of Requirement held anything the seeker needed and couldn't be found while someone was using the room, which suited Harry fine.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts as the bell rang to announce the end of class. He gathered his books and notes together in his bag while Ron waited next to him with his own bag packed already. As Harry slung his bag onto his shoulder he noticed Ron waiting for him, and gave him a guilty grin.

"I have training with Sirius, sorry mate." Harry told him, and shrugged his shoulders in a way to say he couldn't help it.

Ron struggled to hide his irritation and sighed, "When will you be done?" He asked.

"I don't know, it's up to Sirius."

Ron closed his eyes for a brief second before he looked at Harry and forced a smile, "Alright, I'll see you later then."

As Ron started to turn away Harry grabbed his shoulder and turned Ron around to look at him, and quickly looked around the room before he said anything.

"Look, I'm sorry I can't spend as much time with you all as much as I used to, but I need to do this." Harry explained, and Ron could hear the almost hidden plea in his tone.

"I understand mate," Ron said softly, "But it doesn't mean it doesn't annoy the hell 'otta me."

Harry laughed, "That makes two of us."

As Ron chuckled Harry looked towards the door and saw Hermione waiting in the doorway for them.

"I've gotta go, will you tell Hermione and Ginny what I'm doing?" Harry asked.

"I will. Good luck." Ron said as he clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

Harry readjusted his bag on his shoulder as Ron walked over to Hermione and explained what was going on to her, and Harry looked up in time to see the disappointment on her face before she concealed it and looked towards him, and gave a reassuring smile. Harry smiled back at her and raised his hand in farewell before she and Ron turned around, and made their way down the hall. Harry sighed as he watched them, part of him wanted to join him, but another part of him wanted to spend time with Sirius. Harry walked out of Mr. Binns classroom and followed the path Remus had shown him that led to the seventh floor quicker than the stairs would.

When Harry approached the wall that held the Room of Requirement he found that the door was already there, and smiled. _Sirius was here_. Harry didn't hesitate as he opened the door and walked in. Inside he found Sirius shooting spells at a rapid pace at one of the dummies that looked torn up, no doubt from the spells. Harry chuckled at the sight, which startled Sirius, who spun around to look at him.

"Bloody hell Harry! I didn't hear you come in." Sirius exclaimed.

"Never thought I would see the day I'd sneak up on a prankster." Harry said with a laugh.

Sirius fought the urge to give Harry a rude hand gesture, "Alright, ready to train?" He asked.

Harry nodded as he unbuttoned his cloak and threw it onto a nearby chair, and took his wand out of his pocket. While Harry walked closer to Sirius, his godfather got rid of the destroyed dummy and summoned a new one for both of them.

"Okay, today I'm teaching you a spell called Sectumsempra, which-"

"Wait, I think I've heard this one before... I've had it used against me actually." Harry recalled.

"You've had it used against you? By who?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Wormtail," Harry spat the name, "When the Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade in March."

Sirius clenched his wand so tight in his hand that his knuckles turned white.

"He deserves worse than Azkaban." Sirius snarled.

"You don't agree with Scrimgour's decision? I thought you had a say in what happened to Wormtail?" Harry asked.

"The Minister and I don't see eye to eye. Never had." Sirius admitted.

"Never? How long have you known each other?"

"Since your dad and I were Auror's. He had been Head of the Department."

Harry hesitated, a little startled by the information. _His dad had been an Auror?_ Maybe they had more in common than Harry had thought.

"So Scrimgour is no better than Fudge?" Harry asked.

"Please," Sirius scoffed, "You and I could run the Ministry better than either of them."

Harry couldn't help but smile, his mind conjuring up the banner 'Potter for President' that Dean had made for his first Quidditch match.

Sirius cleared his throat, "Okay, back to training. Sectumsempra is considered a dark curse because of the damage it can cause, and in some cases can be fatal-"

Harry paled, he hadn't realized how lucky he had been. Wormtail could of easily killed him.

"-Which is why I'm teaching it to you. If you hit your opponent in the right spot you could kill them almost instantly. One of Voldemort's Death Eater's made the curse during the time he served for him, which is why Voldemort wouldn't expect you to choose it."

"Who made it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Not important, but what's important is that Voldemort wouldn't see it coming."

Sirius turned towards the dummies and flicked his wand at one, and the dummy moved closer.

"I'll show you how to use it, watch closely." Sirius said.

Harry watched as Sirius rolled his sleeves back before he pointed his wand back at the dummy and gave a swift flick of his wand as he shouted, "Sectumsempra!"

The spell collided with the dummy across it's chest, right where the heart would be if it were a real person, and fake blood flowed through the cut before the dummy fell to the ground. Harry had been shocked by all the blood that had come out of the cut, and turned towards Sirius with shock written on his face.

"Yeah, the kill shots are always the messiest." Sirius said.

"I can see that." Harry said sarcastically.

Sirius rolled his eyes, but didn't retort.

"Now it's your turn. Go for the chest, throat or head."

Harry took an audible gulp before he pointed his wand at the dummy.

"Sectemsempra!" Harry yelled as he flicked his wrist.

The curse left his wand with a powerful jolt and hit the dummy hard across the throat, and fake blood spilled out of the cut at a rapid pace before the dummy fell over.

"Well, that was very good for your first time." Sirius said after a moment.

"I didn't realize how powerful the curse was." Harry said with his wand arm throbbing.

"Powerful spells and curses will do that, but you get used to it after a while." Sirius said reassuringly, his eyes focused on Harry's arm.

Harry gave him a brief smile before he shook his arm out and took a deep breath, "Alright, what's next?"

The rest of their time was spent dueling, with Sirius teaching Harry to use Muggle fighting as well as using powerful spells, which both left Harry throbbing. When Sirius ended the training session Harry collapsed onto the nearest couch and panted as he fought to catch his breath, and heard Sirius laugh at him.

"It's quite winding, isn't it?" Sirius asked while he lifted Harry's feet and sat down before he placed Harry's feet on his lap.

"Why aren't you winded, then?" Harry asked.

"This is all I did while I was locked up in Grimmauld Place with Remus. Did you think I laid around all day slowly going stir crazy?" Sirius asked.

"Something like that." Harry replied with a chuckle.

Sirius stuck his tongue out before he grabbed a hold of Harry's legs and pushed him off the couch with a startled yelp.

"Get up lazy! Time to go back up to your dorm before you get a detention!" Sirius said, and used his best parenting voice.

Harry rolled his eyes and hauled himself off the ground and saluted Sirius.

"Yes sir!"

Sirius smirked and got off the couch to clap Harry on the back, and then pulled him into a side hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Remus and I will be coming around twelve." Sirius said as they both walked slowly towards the door.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but why?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore is just having an Order Meeting. Nothing big, he just wants updates." Sirius responded.

Harry nodded and reached for the doorknob, but hesitated and turned to look at Sirius.

"We aren't training tomorrow, right?" He asked hesitantly.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, "No! three days a week is good enough, we don't want to overwork you. Plus, it'll be Saturday, you'll want to spend time with your friends."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, "Thank Merlin. I'm dog-tired."

"Get to bed, pup. I'll see you tomorrow." Sirius said as he pushed Harry towards the door.

Harry opened the door and gave Sirius a smile before he turned away and headed back to the Gryffinfor tower and gave the Fat Lady the password before he entered the Common Room. Inside he found the Weasley's and Hermione sitting by the fireplace talking, and Dean with Seamus playing chess. Harry noted how Dean's eyes kept looking towards Ginny and had to bite his tongue to keep his mouth shut. Harry looked away and walked to the couch where his favorite red head sat and sat down, and threw his arms around her shoulders.

"Hey there." He said as he leaned in to kiss Ginny's cheek.

Harry felt his smile, "Hey love." She replied

"What are you all doing?" He asked as he looked towards everyone else.

"Just talking." Hermione answered a little too quickly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't question her. He knew they had been talking about him, and for once he didn't care. Harry knew they were worried about him.

"And from the smell of you I know you've been training." Ginny said as she plugged her nose and shrugged his arm off her shoulder.

"What? I can't smell that bad," To prove his point Harry lifted his shirt to his nose and inhaled, "Ugh, okay, nevermind. I'm going to shower before you all die of my horrendous odor. G'night."

Harry got off the couch as they all laughed, and gave Fred and George the finger when they gagged as he passed them, and hurried up the stairs to the fifth years dorm, unaware of the concerned voice talking downstairs. Harry jumped into the shower and washed his hair and body before he stepped out and dried off. He applied a charm to his face to get rid of any facial hair and pulled on his clean Quidditch jersey along with jogging pants.

After he finished in the bathroom Harry walked towards his bed and glanced at his clock as he climbed into bed, and found it was a little after ten. _Damn he was tired_. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow he fell asleep. His dream started the moment he fell asleep, which had never happened to him before, or at least he was aware of. Harry found himself wandering down the corridor that had been haunting his dreams for the past few months and began to walk down it as he usually did, and tried to open the closest door to him. To Harry's surprise the door opened, and with hesitation he slowly walked in. Inside he found what seemed like thousands of shelves full of snow globes. But as he looked closer Harry found they weren't snow globes, but orbs with white smoke swirling inside. Harry knitted his eyebrows together in confusion before he continued on, unsure of what he was meant to look for.

Harry's eyes scanned down each aisle as he walked, and kept thinking; _what am I supposed to look for_? A sudden noise broke Harry from his thoughts and he snapped his head up, and looked for the source. He found nothing. Harry looked behind him to see if anyone had entered the room, and then the noise echoed again. It sounded like a groan coming from something, or someone. Harry pinpointed that the noise had to be ahead of him, and gathered his courage before he continued. Harry looked around and found he was near the hundreds, and the sound had gotten closer. He slowed down and carefully looked down each aisle for anything, but he hadn't found it yet.

*It was when Harry reached row ninety-seven when he found something. There was a figure laying on the ground, and Harry could tell they were badly injured. He felt a jolt a fear run up his spine, and to his surprise, he felt excitement as well.

"Take it for me... Lift it down, now... I cannot touch it...but you can..." Harry mouthed the words but did no speak them, but a hooded figure that approached the person on the ground did.

The person on the ground twitched but did not answer, almost as if they knew what was about to happen.

"Crucio!" The hooded figure shouted, and with a shudder Harry found a name for the cold voice; Voldemort.

The person screamed as the spell hit them, and by the scream Harry could tell it was a man. Voldemort laughed cruelly, and Harry suppressed the urge to vomit. Harry tried to scream at Voldemort to stop, but found he had no voice. It didn't matter though, Voldemort released the man of the spell, who let out a pitiful moan.

"Lord Voldemort is waiting..."

The man on the ground slowly sat up on his knees and lifted his head, showing his bloody and gaunt face, as well as his identity.

"You'll have to kill me." Sirius whispered defiantly.

Voldemort let out a chuckle, "Undoubtedly I shall in the end, but you will fetch it for me first, Black... You think you have felt pain thus far? Think again... We have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream..."*

Harry finally found his voice and screamed as Voldemort raised his wand to Sirius' face, and felt his scar flare up as if it had been set on fire. Harry woke up with a yell and sat straight up in his bed, his mind felt scattered and he tried to get out his bed but a strong pair of arms stopped him. Harry thrashed against the arms and retorted to clawing at their skin with his nails and was vaguely aware of the cry of pain the person gave. Harry had to get to Sirius, why wouldn't they just let him go? Harry felt another pair of arms and yelled his frustration.

"Harry! calm down, it's Ron!" You're okay!" Ron yelled as he struggled to calm him.

Harry finally stopped as his eyes focused on Ron's face, and his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. Harry looked around and found Ron sitting on the edge of his bed with his hands clamped around Harry's wrists, and Fred and George sat on Ron's bed, with George trying to heal the scratches on Fred's arm.

"Ron, Ron I have to get to Sirius, Voldemort... he's gonna kill 'em..." Harry said breathlessly.

"What? Harry, it's just a nightmare, You-Know-Who is trying to mess with your head." Ron said calmly, but Harry wouldn't listen.

"Let me go, I can still get to him!" Harry pleaded, and twisted his hands in Ron's grip so he had ahold of Ron.

Ron searched Harry's face as his own showed the mixed emotions he felt, and then turned his head to look at his brothers.

"George, tell anyone who heard the commotion it was just a bad nightmare on the Hogsmeade attack. Fred, find the girls and tell them what happened." Ron instructed, and the twins nodded before they got up and left.

Ron turned back to Harry, "I'm not gonna bother telling you Sirius is fine, because I know you won't believe me. Do you have anything to contact Sirius with?" Ron asked, which startled Harry

"Y-yeah. There's a mirror he gave me... it's in my nightstand." Harry told him as he pointed to said nightstand.

Ron didn't hesitate and opened the drawer, and found the mirror on top of an Occulemncy book. Ron handed the mirror to Harry carefully, who still had that slight crazed look in his eyes from when he woke up. Harry took the mirror in his shaky hands and held it up to his face, and ignored his appearance.

"Sirius Black." Harry said with a tremble in his voice.

Both Harry and Ron watched the mirror, but nothing happened.

"No, no, no..." Harry started to mutter, and before Ron could say anything the mirror changed to show the face of Sirius Black.

"Harry?" Sirius asked uncertainly, startled by his godson's appearance.

"Sirius!" Harry cried, and bit his lip to stop it from quivering.

"What's wrong, pup?" Sirius asked, and glanced at Ron for a second before he looked back at Harry.

"He tricked me, Sirius. I thought you were dead..." Harry trailed off as his emotions threatened to choke him.

Sirius looked confused and turned back to look at Ron, with his eyes asking for an answer.

"Voldemort." Ron told him with a sideways glance at Harry.

Sirius sucked in a breath, "That bastard."

Sirius suddenly turned around to look at something and said after a moment, "I'm talking to Harry. Voldemort got in his mind, Moony. He thought I was dead."

Ron felt Harry flinch next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders for comfort, and they both looked up when the door opened. Fred and George had returned with Hermione and Ginny, who both started to hurry towards Harry, but Ron held a finger up to stop them.

"Harry." Sirius said, and caught everyone's attention, "Remus and I are leaving here and we'll be at the castle in a few minutes. I'll see you then. Okay?" Sirius said.

Harry took a breath to calm himself, and nodded, "Yeah, I'll see you then."

Sirius gave him a warm smile before the mirror went blank and showed Harry his own face again. Harry set the mirror down on the nightstand and then laid his head on his knees, and refused to look at anyone in the room. Ginny got up from his spot on Ron's bed and sat down next to Harry, and reached for his hand. Harry allowed to hold his hand and intertwine their fingers together, but left his face black while his mind raced.

"Harry, do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked.

Harry missed the look of warning Ginny gave her, but answered, "Not yet."

The silence fell in the room once again, and it gave Harry time to calm down. He couldn't believe how wild the dream made him when he woke up. He'd hurt Fred for Merlin's sake! Harry looked over to where Fred and George sat by the window, and opened his mouth to apologize to Fred, but had been cut off.

"Sirius and Remus are here. I see them in the Courtyard." George said.

Harry rubbed his sweaty palms on his trousers before he stood up and re-linked hands with Ginny.

"Lets go." Harry said, and together all six of them left Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

A/N: ** the lines are from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, pages 727-728, which belongs to the amazing JK Rowling!

Happy New Year!


	32. Chapter 32:And He Shall Appear

*Warning- Contains profanity*

Harry yawned and readjusted his head from the position it had been in on Sirius' shoulder. He knew it had to be close to three thirty, but he didn't feel like moving his head to check, and didn't really care. They had been in the Room of Requirement with Dumbledore and McGonagall since eleven to discuss the vision, and it had taken Harry all the focus he possessed to re-tell the dream. He had expected their reactions and hadn't been disappointed, they all looked disgusted and angry, especially Sirius. Harry had been scared that Sirius would march right out of the castle and go shouting for Voldemort to show his bloody face, but with one look at Harry, who hated to admit how scared and how much he had been shaking, Sirius took a calming breath and pulled Harry close to him and whispered he wouldn't be going anywhere. The reassurance calmed Harry, and soon after he had finally stopped shaking.

The twins had left with Ron about an hour ago, who had been told by Harry to leave after they continuously fought to stay awake, and had finally submitted after a while. Hermione and Ginny hadn't been so easy to convince to leave, they both kept insisting they weren't tired and wanted to stay, but as Harry looked over towards the girls he found them asleep, with Hermione's head on Ginny's shoulder and Ginny leaning her head against Hermione's. The adults must of noticed sooner than he had, because Harry noted they all talked in hushed whispers, and didn't know if they had for the girls benefit or his own.

Remus shifted next to him and pulled Harry's blanket off his lap and covered Harry's feet with it, and out of the corner of Harry's eye he could see Remus was pale and tired looking, but his eyes stayed alert as he looked towards Dumbledore, who had been disusing the wards around Hogwarts and mentioned strengthening them.

"Why haven't you already?" Sirius asked, "We knew Voldemort would do something like this sooner or later, maybe not as bad," Harry felt Sirius stroke his hair, "but we knew it was coming."

Dumbledore let out a breath, "We have strengthened the wards, but not as much as we could. I'll get in contact with Bill Weasley in the morning to discuss the wards, but for now I suggest we follow the children's lead and go to sleep ourselves. It has been a long night, and we have much to do in the morning. You both are welcome to stay in here tonight and rest, in fact I insist on it. I bid you goodnight."

Harry watched as Dumbledore got off the couch he had been sitting on with McGonagall and offered her a hand to help her stand, and with a quick goodnight from her they both left the Room of Requirement. Remus stood up and stretched his arms out as he yawned, and glanced down at Harry, who looked right back to him, much to his surprise.

"I thought you fell asleep some time before." Remus said, and Sirius looked over in confusion.

"Can't sleep." Harry replied, and Sirius looked down at him.

"For someone who argued they wanted to stay, the girls sure fell asleep quick." Remus muttered as he glanced over at them.

Harry managed a smile, "I think they didn't want to leave me alone with all you adults."

Sirius ruffled his already untidy hair, "Maybe, but I know it's because they care about you."

Harry felt his cheeks heat from the comment and glanced over at Ginny and Hermione, and missed the look Sirius and Remus shared.

"I'll wake them up, we should leave you both to sleep." Harry muttered as he stood from the couch and tossed his blanket onto Sirius, and started to walks towards the girls.

"You know, you could stay in here if you wanted tonight." Remus said as Sirius nodded in agreement.

Harry paused, and he turned to look at them both with an embarrassed smile.

"I'll be fine." Harry said.

Remus frowned but didn't say anything, and Sirius hesitated before he nodded his understanding. Harry walked to Hermione and shook her shoulder gently, and after a moment she jerked awake and moved her head from Ginny's shoulder, which affectively woke Ginny up, who drew in a startled gasp. Hermione apologized for falling asleep as she got off the couch and stretched, while Ginny rubbed her eyes to an attempt to wake herself up more and tried to subdue her yawns. Harry brushed off Hermione's apologizes while he held his hand out to Ginny and helped her off the couch and kept a hold of her hand.

"See you tomorrow. G'night." Harry said to Sirius and Remus, who wished them all goodnight as well.

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione walked out of the Room of Requirement and sluggishly walked down the hall, while Hermione chatted to keep herself awake and Ginny leaned into Harry and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I could carry you if you're too tired." Harry whispered to Ginny.

Ginny moved her head from his shoulder and glared at him, but Harry gave her a cheeky grin, and her glare fell from her face. Hermione continued to talk, unaware Ginny and Harry weren't really listening, and the pair shared an amused smile but didn't bother to tell her. They quickly made it to Gryffindor Tower and muttered the password to enter, and paused as they entered the common room.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I've never seen you so shaken up." Hermione said.

Harry couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed with all the concern he had received, it frightened him at how wild he had acted from the vision when he awoke.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I have Ron keeping an eye on me." Harry had been sure of it.

Hermione closed the space in between them and hugged him tight, which had been awkward for Harry since he still had a hold of Ginny's hand, but used his free arm and hugged her back. Hermione pulled back and gave him a fleeting smile before she turned and headed for the girls dormitory. Ginny left his side and stood in front of him, and studied his face before she spoke.

"You better tell someone if anything else happens or I'll hit you so hard with my Bat-Boogy Hex you won't be able to-" Harry silenced her with a kiss and hugged her to him.

"Yes ma'am." Harry muttered in her ear.

Harry felt her grin into his neck and felt her hand tug at his hair, and Harry took it as a warning.

"Goodnight Harry... I love you." Ginny whispered in his ear.

Harry felt his eyes widen and his body tense. _Did he hear her right? Did she just say..?_

Ginny pulled away and held his face in her hands, and she laughed at the panic clear on his face.

"You don't have to say it back, I don't expect you to. I just want you to know." Ginny said with a grin.

Before Harry could say a word she brought her lips to his and planted a tender kiss on his lips. Harry melted into the kiss and tried to deepen it, but Ginny smiled and pulled away.

"I'll see you in the morning."

Ginny gave his hand one last squeeze before she let go and walked up to her dormitory. Harry stood stunned, his mind still reeling from Ginny had said. _I love you. Did he love her? _Harry didn't know, he didn't have anything to compare what he felt for her to. Harry yawned, which brought him from his thoughts. He'd think more about it in the morning, but right now he wanted to sleep. Harry slowly walked up the stairs to the fifth year boys dormitory and silently walked in, but with the loud snoring from Ron and Neville there had been no need. Harry felt his way to his bed and climbed in, and felt for his nightstand and placed his glasses on it. He laid back and used the technique Tonks had taught him from Occlumency to clear his mind, and by doing that sleep claimed him.

* * *

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the head table and averted his gaze from on lookers. At first he found the attention somewhat amusing, since most of the students in the Great Hall had been shocked to see Sirius Black sitting next to Dumbledore and Remus Lupin, and from what Sirius could tell, they still weren't over there shock. Sirius heard a snicker next to him and turned his head to glare at the smirking werewolf next to him.

"Who knew you could hate attention so much? You used to glory in it." Remus said, his eyes shining with mirth.

Sirius whispered where Remus could stick his sense of humor and rolled his eyes as Remus continued to laugh at his expense. He looked towards the Gryffindor table and searched for Harry amongst his friends, but he had been nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Harry walk in yet?" Sirius asked.

Remus stopped laughing and looked around also, and Sirius watched as a frown formed on his face.

"No, I don't see him. I wouldn't sweat it, he's probably still sleeping." Remus told him.

Sirius nodded and took a sip of his tea, and out the corner of his eyes he caught a spot of red moving towards the doors. He looked up and saw Ron and Hermione leaving the Hall, and hurried out of his seat and rushed after them, not aware of the stares he received.

"Oi!" Sirius called, and the pair stopped to look at him.

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

"Have you seen Harry?" Sirius asked.

Hermione looked to Ron to answer, and he did, "He was still sleeping when I left for lunch, he's probably still sleeping."

"Remus said the same thing," Sirius muttered, "I just wanted to make sure."

Sirius looked down at his watch and found it had just turned twelve, and ran his fingers through his hair. Stop worrying, his mind scolded.

"I'll check on him when we get back, and I'll use to mirror to tell you if anything's wrong." Ron said as he noticed Sirius' worry.

Sirius let out a sigh, "Thanks mate."

Ron offered him a grin, "No problem."

Hermione gave him a smile as well and turned with Ron to leave, but the doors suddenly slammed shut and a sound alarm sounded through out the Great Hall.

"The wards!" McGonagall shouted from the head table, and the hall instantly filled with panic.

Sirius pulled Hermione and Ron close to him as he looked towards the head table and locked eyes with Remus, who looked back at him with equal worry. If the wards were broken by who they thought...

"Stay close to me, we're going to the head table." Sirius told Ron and Hermione, who nodded with wide eyes.

As they walked towards the head table Sirius noticed McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout go to their respected houses and tried to calm down their distraught students with the help of Prefects and Heads. Sirius stopped right in front of Dumbledore and vaguely noticed Ron and Hermione go over to Remus and talk in hushed voices.

"The wards, Dumbledore. Didn't you fix them?" Sirius asked with venom.

Dumbledore visibly winced, "Bill Weasley wasn't able to come this morning-"

"I don't give a damn that he couldn't come!" Sirius yelled, "This problem should of been fixed weeks ago! They shouldn't of been able to break the wards so easily. We're all in danger, the teachers, students, Harry-" Sirius sucked in a deep breath and felt even more panic choke him, "Harry isn't in here, Dumbledore. He's still in his dormitory. God damnit!"

Sirius glanced over to Remus and found him tense and pale, no doubt from what he heard from the conversation.

"The inner wards are protecting us right now, all the doors are sealed." Dumbledore gestured to the locked door in the front of the hall.

"So how are we able to protect the castle from the outside? We have only so many Auror's out there, most of them probably dead by now. And if they broke the outer wards so easy, think of how much time we have left until those wards are broken. You fucked up, Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore flinched, but did not scold Sirius for his language, which Sirius had somewhat expected.

"I'll gather the teachers and we'll try to strengthen the wards from where we are, but I need you to help." Dumbledore said as he grabbed his wand from his robes, and without an answer he walked over to Hooch.

Sirius turned and walked over to Remus, who stood as he saw him come his way, "We're going to try to strengthen the wards from here, but we need the teachers help." Sirius explained.

Remus nodded.

"Do you know where Tonks is?" Sirius asked as he looked for her in the crowd.

"She's guarding outside." Remus said with an audible gulp.

"Bloody fantastic," Sirius growled, "We can't do anything for her right now, we need to focus on protecting the kids."

Remus nodded his head again, and without a word left to help with the wards.

Sirius now looked to Ron and Hermione, who noticed and started to reach for their wands, "I want you two to sit here and wait unless we say otherwise." Sirius instructed.

Hermione started to retort, but Sirius held his finger up, "No arguing, just do as your told."

Sirius turned and looked for a teacher in the crowd, and spotted Snape talking to an older Slytherin student, and strided towards him. Snape looked up in surprise when he noticed Sirius walking towards him, and his lips curled into a sneer.

"I don't have time for petty insults, we have work to do." Sirius snapped, and Snape's face showed his shock for a moment before he composed himself, "We have to try to strengthen the wards from where we are, and we need all the teachers help."

Snape nodded his understanding and started to walk towards the doors, but Sirius grabbed his arm, "Did you know something was going to happen today?" Sirius asked before Snape could get a word out.

"No, none of the Death Eaters thought the Dark Lord would attack until early June." Snape replied.

For some reason Sirius found that he believed Snape, and nodded as he let go of his arm, and they both hurried towards the doors where all the teachers were gathered with their wands raised. Sirius stood next to Remus and Flitwick and raised his own wand while he listened for the spell they were chanting, and as he joined in he could feel the magic coming from the other side, and it pulsed strongly. Sirius gritted his breath and used all the power he possessed into his wand, and hoped it would be enough.

Sirius suddenly heard a familiar voice somewhere behind him and turned around to find Ron and Hermione sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table with Ginny and the twins, and gave them all a fierce glare before he turned around to look at what he had to do.

"Don't you ever do as you're told?" Sirius hissed at them through clenched teeth.

"No." They both answered simultaneously, and Sirius fought the urge to grin.

Sirius then felt his pocket heat up from the mirror he kept there and glanced down at it. It had to be Harry, no one else could be calling at the moment. Sirius desperately wanted to answer but couldn't with his hands and mind focused on something else.

"Ron," He called, "Grab my mirror out of my pocket, Harry's calling."

Ron hurried from his seat and reached into Sirius' pocket and grabbed the hot mirror, and used his sleeves to cover his hands from the heat and held the mirror to his face, and Harry's face appeared.

"Sir- Ron? Where's Sirius?" Harry asked in confusion.

"He's helping the teachers put up wards, the wards have been breached." Ron explained, and moved the mirror so Harry could see Sirius, who made a signal that he could hear him.

"I figured something happened. I'm locked in Gryffindor Tower with a few other students. Is it Death Eaters?"

"We don't know, but we think it's them." Ron replied.

"Is there anyone there trying to enter?" Ginny asked worriedly, and peaked her head over Ron's shoulder to look at Harry.

Harry's eyebrows knitted together, "No, it's been quiet up here. Why?"

"They're probably after you, but they don't know you're not in here yet." Hermione explained, and they all knew she was probably right.

"I'll let you know if anything happens up here, I'll let you go in case you're need to help." Harry said with a grim expression.

After a quick goodbye Harry left, and Ron returned the mirror back to Sirius' pocket. The teachers still worked at the wards, and Ron hoped that it would enough. He wished too soon though, because almost a soon as the thought entered his mind a loud _BOOM! _echoed in the Great Hall and the teachers were thrown back from the doors, which opened a moment later. The hall erupted into chaos as the Death Eaters quickly crowded the room and started to fight the teachers and students. Most the them went straight for Dumbledore, who looked like he expected such and started to duel each, but Ron didn't know if he could win this one, eight against one, the odds weren't in his favor.

Ron jumped to his feet and pulled his wand out and aimed it at a Death Eater, and yelled the first spell that came to mind. He could Hermione, his brothers and sister yelling spells and curses close by to him but couldn't lose his focus to check, Death Eater's kept spilling from the door and started to overwhelm the students ad teachers. Ron let out a yell of pain as a curse hit him in the leg and made him stumble as he tried to regain his equilibrium, but before he could a spell hit him and threw him against the wall.

Ron looked around and saw the Death Eaters were trying to crowd the students and teachers near the walls, and before anyone else could notice a Death Eater walked into the middle of the hall and yelled a curse as he waved his wand in a circle, and seconds later a spell erected around the crowded students and teachers, and also pushed in people the Death Eaters hadn;t managed, and it looked like a shield to Ron. He frowned and moved closer to where the spell had faded from the air and touch, and sure enough his hand connected with an invisible wall that kept them separated from the gathering Death Eaters in the middle.

Ron could hear the Death Eaters muttering the Ministry as he parted through the crowd in search of his family and friends, and sighed in relief when he spotted his sister and brothers, along with Hermione, standing next to Sirius and Remus as they whispered to one another.

"How the hell did this happen?" Ron asked, and his eyes searched for Dumbledore in the crowd..

Sirius looked enraged as he glared at the Death Eaters crowded in front of them as they talked in hushed tones, but Remus put a hand on his shoulder and looked at Ron, "The wards weren't as strong as they could of been, some Death Eater's must've been working at the wards for months in order to get through them as quick as they just did." Remus explained with a grimace.

"Voldemort isn't here." Hermione noted with a frown.

"He isn't," Remus said, as if he just realized, and a moment later a look of realization crossed his features, "The vision. Voldemort planted it thinking Harry would come to save Sirius. Voldemort must be at the Ministry."

Ron felt himself pale, "Dad and Percy are at the Ministry. Oh Merlin."

Ron felt like he swallowed a huge ice cube and it caught in his throat, and his legs would of given out if Fred hadn't caught him in time, and pulled him to his chest.

"We're screwed. Voldemort's coming at us at all corners." Ron whispered in despair.

"Calm down Ron, getting yourself worked up won't help anything." Hermione murmured as she stroked his hair, and he knew she was right.

Ron took in a deep breath and pulled away from Fred, who couldn't help but look at Ron with concern, but didn't say anything. Hermione reached her hand out and gripped his tightly in reassurance, and Ron rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Ron then looked up and caught Ginny's eye, who had her arm linked through George's as he talked with Sirius, and gave him a tight smile. He knew she had to be thinking of Harry, worrying about him like the rest of them.

Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall opened again and to their surprise Lucius Malfoy walked in with his Death Eater attire on, minus the mask, and the whole hall went silent. Lucius walked purposely over to the other Death Eaters with a look a rage on his face. This couldn't be good. Ron strained his neck trying to get a closer look, and found himself shocked as he noted Draco and a few other student's were left out from the shield. _Other Death Eater's children_, Ron thought in disgust. Lucius muttered something inaudible to his buddies and Ron watched the anger form on their faces as well. _Something had to be wrong._

Lucius dispatched from the others and faced the crowd with cold eyes, "Alright! Where's Potter?" He yelled.

Ron heard the intake of breath from behind him and from the crowd, and went whatever blood he had in his face drain away. _They knew_. No one dared to speak, which only seemed to anger Lucius more.

"Someone has to know! C'mon now, speak up!" Lucius snarled, but when no one offered any information, Lucius turned his head to the hall's doors, "Bella, Rodolphus! Search Gryffindor Tower along with the halls, we'll search the crowd. He has to be here somewhere."

Ron felt his eyes widen and turned to Sirius, who looked as gaunt and pale like the first time they had met.

"What do we do?" Ginny asked with panic.

Sirius closed his eyes and slid down the wall he had been leaning against while Remus tried to say something, but nothing left his mouth. Hermione squeezed his fingers so tight he feared he would loose feeling in them, but he didn't stop her. George had gripped Ginny's arm in his as he whispered to her as she struggled to break free from him, her eyes wide and frantic. Fred looked lost where he stood, and looked helplessly back at Ron. This hadn't been the plan, everything went wrong so fast! Ron used his free hand to clench his hair in frustration, and could feel his body trembling as his emotions got the best of him.

Ron heard struggling and outraged voices from the other side of the hall pierce the air and looked up to see several Death Eaters surrounding Dumbledore and restraining him and some of the people around them as a lone Death Eater used his wand to tie Dumbledore's arms and legs together. Ron turned his head away, he couldn't watch anymore. It just kept getting better. Ron had to admit, aside from tying Dumbledore up, being held hostage had been eerily quiet. Lucius now talked to the other Death Eaters, no doubt discussing what to do next, and Ron couldn't remember a time where he had felt this helpless in his life. Minutes passed by, but Ron still stood where he was hand in hand with Hermione, and staring at the crowd across from them in deep thought.

The silence was suddenly punctured by the doors opening once again and loud, angry voices coming from the other side. When the doors fully opened Rodolphus Lestrange walked in with a smug look on his face, and Bellatrix appeared behind with none other than Harry struggling with the bonds that secured his hands together and cursing her like there was no tomorrow. Ron felt faint as he took in the sight, and couldn't turn his head to look at the others, but Ron knew by the gasps he heard that they saw him too. Ron noticed Harry's face had blood on it and his nose still gushed blood from a wound and his shirt had a rip in it on his side, which was stained with blood as well.

Bellatrix looked giddy as she ignored Harry's rude comments and ushered him to the group of Death Eaters with her husband, and Ron knew the instant Bellatrix let out a triumph laugh Harry's anger would boil.

"You fucking bitch!" Harry snarled at her, and Bellatrix simply back handed across the face, and her wedding ring left a cut on his cheek.

Harry's face twisted into anger, and he sucked in his cheeks before he spit a mixture of blood and saliva at her face. The whole room drew in a gasp at the unexpected action, and Ron couldn't help but feel proud of Harry. Bellatrix looked at Harry with a gaping mouth before she wiped the spit off her face and gripped Harry's face in his hands, and Ron could see her long nails digging into Harry's flesh.

"The Dark Lord will have the pleasure of killing you, but he never said we couldn't roughen you up a bit." Bellatrix hissed with a wicked smile.

Instead of using her wand like Ron thought she would, Bellatrix drew her fist back and punch Harry as hard in the stomach as she possibly could, and Harry let out a strangled gasp and started to fall, but Rodolphus grabbed his arms and kept him in place. Ron could barely contain his anger and wished more than anything to rip her throat out, but a chilling voice distracted him from his thoughts.

"Enough Bella, let me greet my guest of honor."

Ron turned to look towards the doors, and felt his blood chill in his veins. Voldemort had arrived.

* * *

Oh, the joy of cliffhangers! Don't hate me too much, and please remember to leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter!


	33. Chapter 33: Sacrifice

Harry set aside the mirror and sat back down on his bed. Ron thought Death Eaters were trying to get in, which Harry didn't doubt at this point. With nothing to do but think with the time he now had, Harry started to put the pieces together_. This all had to be Voldemort's big plan, first the vision, which should of sent him to the Ministry in search of Sirius_... Harry felt his eyes widen. Had Voldemort been waiting since last night for him to arrive at the Ministry? If he had, Voldemort would soon figure out that Harry wouldn't be coming. _Oh no_. _At least both of our plans failed_, Harry thought bitterly. Voldemort must've planned on attacking the Ministry with himself there while his Death Eaters attended to Hogwarts, and now Voldemort would soon be coming for Harry, who was trapped in his dormitory.

Harry gripped his wand more tightly in his hand and checked for the fang in his pocket, and let out a sigh of relief when he felt it against his leg. _Maybe today would be the day for Prophesy would be fulfilled_, Harry thought. _The seventh Horcrux_, Harry remembered, _had it been destroyed yet? Had Dumbledore taken care of it? _Harry cursed Dumbledore under his breath, why hadn't he told him anything? Harry heard a sudden noise from the common room and something break, and sprang off the bed.

He rushed to the door and quickly made his way down the stairs and paused before he entered the room, his eyes searching for any danger. Harry peeked his head in and felt all the blood drain from his face. Bellatrix and Rodoluphus Lestrange were in the common room fighting with two students, and before Harry could recover his shock Bellatrix shot the killing curse at her opponent, who hadn't been able to move out of the way in time. Time seemed to move slow as the curse hit the student right in the chest and sent him on his back on the ground, which gave Harry the opportunity to see his face. Harry felt bile raise in his throat. Seamus. Seamus was dead.

Bellatrix let out a girlish giggle that distracted her husbands opponent, which gave him the upper hand and shot a curse at the student, and it sent them into the wall next to where Harry had been concealed behind, and he heard the student give a groan before they fell sideways to the ground. Harry gasped as he saw the persons face. Lee Jordan. Harry didn't know if he was dead or not, but he felt his adrenaline kick in as well as his anger, and without thinking he hurried into the room and shot the first curse that came into mind at Rodoluphus Lestrange.

Rodoluphus had his back to Harry and didn't turn around in time to stop the curse, and got thrown back into a book shelf behind him. Harry turned and raised his wand to shield himself in time for Bellatrix's curse to shoot off it and shot his own curse in return. They continued with their duel in the common room, and Harry found himself surprised when Bellatrix started to tire faster than him. _Why? Had she already dueled with more than Seamus and himself? The Ministry_. Harry felt himself pale at the thought.

With his mind slightly stunned with what it thought of, Bellatrix took her opening and shot Harry with a curse on his side that sliced his skin open. Harry cried out in shock and pain as he felt the pain radiated through his side and fought the impulse to cover the wound with his hand. Harry groaned under his breath and quickly shot Bellatrix with a gray curse Sirius had taught him, which hit it's mark and sent Bellatrix tumbling onto the couch behind her. She let out a dog-like growl and increased her fire at Harry, who found with his side injury harder to raise his wand and shot as quick as she.

Harry felt his frustration grow and used it to fuel his fighting and began to use more gray area curses, such as Sectumsempra, but Bellatrix dodged the more fatal ones, but Harry got her with a few minor spells, which he felt must of been hard with her skill of dueling. Suddenly as Bellatrix's lips started to word a curse, she stopped with a look of surprise with her eyes fixated on something behind Harry for a mere second before she began her curse again. Harry's body tensed and the hairs on his neck rise, but still managed to block her curse. Something was wrong, or else she wouldn't of reacted as such, but he didn't have a moment to check.

Harry raised his wand and went to use Sectumsempra again in the hopes it would hit Bellatrix this time, but a sudden pair of arms grabbed his elbows and straightened his arms to his sides, and the curse hit the ground near Harry's feet with a loud screech. Harry snarled and began to struggle in Rodoluphus' arms and tried to keep a hold of his wand at the same time. Harry kept twisting his wrists in Rodoluphus' hold until he pulled one free and went to punch the man as hard as he could in his face, but Bellatrix appeared at his side and grabbed his fist in her hand, and used all her strength and jerked his arm behind his back, and he groaned as his muscles screamed in protest.

"I'll tie him up, keep a hold of him." Bellatrix ordered, and her husband nodded without complaint.

Harry gritted his teeth as Bellatrix gave his arms another painful twist before she started to move so Rodoluphus could take her place, but Harry used the opening to kick out at the older man, who pushed him back at Bellatrix as he struggled to regain his balance. Harry fell into Bellatrix and sent them both onto the ground, and he used the distraction to hide his wand the safety of his back pocket and quickly tucked his shirt in over it, thankful for the hoodle he wore, and rolled over to where Lee laid and grabbed the wand from his limp fingers.

Harry turned onto his back and found Bellatrix standing over him with a malicious smile, and before he could process anything she kicked the wand out of his hand and stepped onto his arm in warning as she reached for him. Rodoluphus came over and helped her pick Harry off the ground, who didn't make there job easy. He continued to struggle as Rodoluphus kept a hold on his elbows and turned him around so they were facing each other, and Bellatrix grabbed his hands and crossed his wrist together as she secured a piece of rope around them. Harry snarled again in outrage and kicked at Rodoluphus, hoping the man would stumble and loosen his grip on Harry once again, But Bellatrix dug her long nails into the sensitive skin at his wrist and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"If you don't stop struggling I'll curse you so bad you'll end up like one of the Longbottoms." Bellatrix hissed in his ear.

It wasn't the threat that made Harry stop struggling, but it was the shock of the comment about Neville's parents and how she said it with relish. It made him sick to his stomach. Bellatrix finished securing the rope around his wrist, Harry found he wouldn't be able to grab his weapon. Rodoluphus made sure Harry's wrist were secured tightly before he punched Harry square in the face. Harry gasped as he felt his nose break and blood pour from his nostril and down to his lips and chin, and wasn't prepared when he felt a slap follow the punch, and his breath was taken away. Harry's cheek stung and he tasted blood in his mouth, which distracted him from the fight Bellatrix and Rodoluphus broke into about him, but Bellatrix stalked towards Harry and gripped his right arm in hers and began walking towards the exit.

Harry managed to look over his shoulder one last time before Bellatrix manually hauled him through the door, and saw two first year boys peeking into the common room from the wall that seperated the stairs to the room, and they both looked extremely frightened. Harry couldn't give them any comfort, one word from him could sentence their death. Instead Harry pointed with his chin up, motioning for them to return to their dormitory. One of the boys nodded in understanding before he tugged on the other boys elbow and started to walk up the stairs quietly. Harry got a quick glance at the ground before Bellatrix grabbed his neck and made him look foreward. The image of Seamus dead and Lee unconscious stuck inside Harry's head, and guilt began to fill him_. All because of me, Bellatrix and Rodoluphus were after me, _Harry thought grimly as they walked down the flight of stairs and Harry looked up to see the Great Hall doors in front of them. Harry dig his heels into the ground in an effort to stop them from entering, but Bellatrix kicked at his feet and helped him forward when he stumbled.

"Remember my threat Potter, I never break my promises." Bellatrix scolded lightly.

"I don't give a damn about your promises." Harry hissed back, feeling the need to talk back.

Before Bellatrix could retaliate Rodoluphus opened the doors to the Great Hall and walked a head of them, and then he and Bellatrix entered. Harry found himself astonished as he found the teachers and students gather in a perfect U in front of him, but as he focused he noticed the ripple from a shield around them and figured it out quickly. They were imprisoned. Harry started to curse Bellatrix with every swear word he knew as she ushered him over to the waiting Death Eaters and heard her giggle in triumph. Harry felt anger like he never knew rise inside him and opened his mouth.

"You fucking bitch!"

Bellatrix backhanded him and left a slash on his cheek from a ring. Harry glared at her before he sucked his cheeks in and gathered all his saliva, and spat a mouthful of it in her face. Harry felt himself smirking as he heard the intake of breath around them, but as Bellatrix snarled and grabbed his face with her long nails digging into his flesh, it turned into a grimace.

"The Dark Lord will have the pleasure of killing you, but he never said we couldn't roughen you up a bit." She hissed, her face inches from his own.

Harry barely caught his breath before she drew her fist back and punched him hard in the stomach, which left Harry shocked. He drew in a strangled gasp and prepared himself for the next blow, but a voice from behind them stopped her.

"Enough Bella. Let me greet our guest of honor."

Harry knew that voice, and felt himself tense up. Voldemort was here. Harry slowly turned and Bellatrix allowed him, and found himself paralyzed with fear. Voldemort stood there in his usual attire; black cloak but with the hood down, black shoes and a sinister look upon his face. As Harry stood there looking at Voldemort, he became aware of everyone watching in the Great Hall for his reaction. Harry knew Sirius and the Weasley's were in here somewhere but couldn't find them in the crowd, and the thought of them made him stand taller and calmed some of his fear.

Voldemort paused in the doorway with his gaze on Harry, and cocked his head to the side, "You've healed up quite nicely since August, Harry, but too bad it'll of been in vain."

Harry didn't find himself surprised by Voldemort's choice of words, but by the reaction from the crowd Harry guessed they were. Harry heard a commotion from his right side and glanced over to see what had happened, and found Sirius had parted the crowd from where he had been standing and glared at Voldemort with such hatred it startled Harry. The Weasley's along with Hermione and Remus rushed to his side, and Harry's breath caught in his throat. Harry gave Voldemort a side glance and found he also was watching them with an amused look and held his finger up to his Death Eaters to wait.

Sirius looked even more enraged when he noticed Voldemort's amused look and opened his mouth to say something, but Harry managed to catch his eye and shook his head with his eyes wide with warning. Sirius' glare melted from his face as he stared at Harry, who could see the naked fear in his godfathers eyes.

"Glad to see your godfather alive and kicking? I had hoped my vision would be enough to get you to come like the hero you are to the Ministry." Voldemort asked in a tone of sarcasm.

Harry tore his eyes from Sirius to glare Voldemort, who had a smile on his face, but Harry could see the anger burning in his eyes.

"What I'm more relieved about is that your plan failed. Why did you want me at the Ministry?" Harry asked, knowing he had to keep Voldemort talking so he could come up with some plan before Voldemort attacked.

"I thought the reason why was quite obvious. I want the content's of the Prophesy." Voldemort snapped.

Harry found the strange urge to laugh, and did so, "You're still on the Prophesy? Merlin, I thought that was old news."

Harry knew he would pay for his cheek later, with Voldemort he usually did, and Voldemort fixated him with a look of pure loathing.

"So you do know it. How about you start talking before I start questioning some of your friends, and you know how I get people to talk." Voldemort's gave Harry a sinister smile, and Harry felt himself pale.

Harry opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He wouldn't let Voldemort torture his friends, he couldn't give the Prophesy to him... _Keep him talking_, his conscious screamed. Harry went to open his mouth again, but he was interrupted by the loud of a hiss-like cry and the sickening squelch sound that accompanied it. Harry turned towards the noise and found the crowded parted from Sirius still, and now the dead snake that laid at his feet. Sirius killed Nagini, the sixth horcrux. _How? _Harry pondered as he stared mesmurized at the snake on the ground with a gash on its side from the bloody fang Sirius had in his hand.

Voldemort let out a snake-like hiss and he looked his his now dead snake and Sirius, and Harry could feel his rage from his scar. Harry looked to Remus, who stood shocked next to Sirius and had his arm extended in front of Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione to keep them from harms way.

"As soon as I finish with you Potter, your godfather will suffer the same fate." Voldemort promised as he turned his gaze to Harry.

Harry found himself panicking. _What a stupid move for Sirius to make right now! Did Voldemort realize that Sirius knew he had just killed a horcrux, or did he believe, like everyone else would, that Sirius had defended himself? _Harry glanced sideways and found that Bellatrix and Rodoluphus had discreetly blended into the group of Death Eaters before him, and Harry shifted a little more to the right so that his back was hidden from there sight, and began to twist his wrists and pull, hoping he could find some give in the rope.

"- Maybe I could get him to tell me the Prophesy, since you aren't willing. Or perhaps the werewolf? I know you're fond of both, I don't care who I have torture first, it's your choice." Voldemort added, and Harry felt his giddiness.

Harry blinked at the sudden mood change, but ignored it and focused on his own emotions and tried to think of something to counter Voldemort's threat. Harry finally found a give in the rope and silently thanked Bellatrix for tying to rope weakly as his wrist broke though the breakable tie, making it look as though he had just flinched, and as he held the rope in his free hand something popped into his mind.

"You can't!" Harry suddenly said, and he knew he sounded panicked, "They couldn't tell you even if they wanted to, they all took an Unbreakable Vow not to tell."

Harry didn't _exactly_ lie, most the Order had taken Unbreakable Vow, but Sirius and Remus hadn't, there had been no need. But Voldemort didn't know that, and Harry knew neither one of them would correct him in fear of putting the other in risk. Sirius and Remus knew this, and as Harry glanced at them, they gave him a look of shock mixed with anger, and Harry quickly turned away.

Voldemort looked shocked as well, but quickly composed himself, "Well, I must admit I didn't see this coming. No matter, I can still get my way. You can tell me the Prophesy, and I might be merciful enough to make your death quick."

"I _could_ tell you the Prophesy, " Harry said, and gripped his wand tight in his hand, "But I won't."

Harry had a moment to defend himself before Voldemort's spell collided with his shield, which shattered instantly. Harry conjured another shield as Voldemort continued his attack, and Harry shot back curses when he had the chance.

"You know about them, don't you?" Voldemort asked as he sent a dark blue curse in Harry's direction, but he managed to dodge it.

"What?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

As Harry shot back 'Expulso' Voldemort erected a shield and said at the same time, "You've been searching and destroying my... prized possessions, haven't you?"

Harry knew what he meant, and he managed to shield himself from some unknown curse that had been sent in his direction and glanced over to the crowd from Sirius, Remus and his friends were. They all looked back at him, horrified that Voldemort had finally discovered what they had been doing.

"I just thought they were objects that belonged to the Founders." Harry lied, and knew it was weak.

Voldemort flicked his wand unexpectedly and hit Harry with a curse that cut the skin at his right shoulder, making Harry flinch at the pain.

"Don't try to lie to me, Potter. I know that you know. Only I don't know how many you have destroyed. All I know is that you haven't destroyed the last one." Voldemort said with a sinister smile growing on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Harry snarled, but dread filled his stomach and swear began to drench his brow.

"You'll never be able to destroy the last one, your precious Order will never allow it."

Harry arched his eyebrow, "Oh really? What makes you think that?"

"Haven't you ever wondered what happened that Halloween night fourteen years ago?" Voldemort asked out of the blue.

Before Harry could give any thought to it Voldemort suddenly unleashed Legitimacy on him, who had his shields up but did not expect a sudden invasion during the duel, and fought to keep Voldemort out of his mind. Harry was vaguely aware of voices whispering in the crowd as they watched, and few voices speaking more loudly, to him? Before Harry could give it more thought he felt a spell hit him square in the chest and the pain from it sent him to his knees, and the moment of distraction was all Voldemort needed to access his mind.

Instantly images of the snake entered Harry's mind as well as a ring in a small shack, the diary he destroyed in second year, Ravenclaws lost diadem... No, Harry blocked his own memories of the objects with all his strength, and felt Voldemort continue to poke around in his mind for other memories. Suddenly a blurry memory resurfaced for both Voldemort and Harry to see, but it wasn't one Harry knew. He looked more closely and felt a wave of nausea hit him. Why would Voldemort want to look back at the night his parent's were killed? To taunt him?

Harry forced himself not to look at the ground where he knew his mother laid dead, but watched as a younger and more human-like Voldemort pointed his wand at himself as a baby, and felt his eyes bulge out as he watched the killing curse hit himself and then bounce back onto Voldemort, and as his younger self screamed in pain as a dark light engulfed Voldemort before it disappeared with him, leaving a newly scarred Harry in his crib crying as the house started to collapse in. Harry gasped as they both were thrown out of the memory and hurried to his feet with his eyes trained on Voldemort. He looked startled, which Harry had never seen before, and doubted many had.

"You're one of them," Voldemort said, and tilted his head up to look Harry square in the eye, "You're the seventh."

Harry felt fear seize and choke him. _Horcrux? He was the seventh? No, he couldn't - it had to be impossible._

"I'm guessing either Dumbledore knew or guessed, but he didn't tell you, did he?" Voldemort asked, and now looked amused.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, and stood frozen. As Voldemort let out a humorless chuckle Harry turned his head to look over at his family, and found them staring back at him with... Fear? Shock? Horror? Harry couldn't be sure, maybe a combination of all three. Harry caught Ginny's eye and saw the panic etched in her brown eyes, and it tore at his heart.

"You've done a fantastic job with your Chosen One, Dumbledore, look at how scared your Savior is." Voldemort said, and Harry snapped his eyes back to him.

Harry saw Voldemort had his body turned away from him to his right side, and Harry cocked his head to the side so he could see what Voldemort had been looking at. Harry registered his shock as it hit him once again as he found Dumbledore tied up and unable to speak from what Harry didn't know nor want to, and couldn't help but feel betrayed by his Headmaster, who wouldn't look him in the eye. _Dumbledore knew, that's why he wouldn't tell me. _

"You can join me Harry, this is my last offer. Stand by my side and help me create a better Wizarding World." Voldemort offered.

Harry felt anger raise in him and didn't hesitate when he spoke, "I'll join you when hell freezes over." He spat.

Harry ducked as Voldemort sent a Cruciatus in his direction, knowing that any shield he created wouldn't protect him, and sprang back into action.

"Stupify!"

Voldemort gave an almost lazy flick of his wand and deflected it, and sent a purple curse back that Harry didn't recognize, so once more he ducked, not risking the chance of his shield failing. Harry focused on Voldemort and tried to figure out what his next move might be, maybe the killing curse? Suddenly Harry could see a Death Eater dispatch from the others from the corner of his eye and saw the Death Eater point his wand in his direction.

"Imperio!" Lucius yelled with an evident smirk on his face.

Harry moved quickly out of the curses way as Voldemort yelled, "Crucio!"

Harry moved right into the curses path and fell to his knees as the curse hit him and searing pain engulfed him. Harry became more focused on keeping his screams silent that he hadn't heard Voldemort yelling at Lucius for interfering and promised to deal with him later, or the crowd watching in horror, some of them even yelling their protest.

"Leave him alone, you sick bastard!" Harry heard Sirius yell through his pain.

Harry ended up falling on his side, unable to hold himself up anymore, and felt blood dribble onto his cheek from his teeth piercing through the skin on his bottom lip. After a few more agonizing moments Voldemort moved his wand away from Harry's writhing form, a wicked smile on his face as he watched Harry gasp for breath and shaky reach for his wand. Harry grasped his wand in his hand before pulling himself up as fast as he could, to the surprise of almost everyone in the room.

"I must say I'm surprised to see you up so quickly." Voldemort said, and it sickened Harry when he heard the curiosity in his voice.

"I've had enough practice with the spell, no thanks to you." Harry said as he pointed his wand at Voldemort, " Impedimenta!"

Voldemort raised a shield just in time to block Harry's spell, and kept it up as Harry continued firing.

"Come on boy, are you too scared to used Unforgivables?" Voldemort taunted as he threw the killing curse for the first time in the duel.

Harry dropped to the ground and narrowly missed the let of green light

"No, I'm not a sadistic bastard." Harry spat with venom.

Harry and Voldemort continued with their duel, and Harry started to receive minor cuts and forming bruises as well as a broken finger from barely missed curses, and Harry managed to give Voldemort a few cuts in return. The problem Harry now faced was a wound on his forehead that began to drip into his eye, and Harry had to wipe sway the blood when he had the chance so he could see. To add to his growing list of problems, he began to tire, and in result his spells slowed, which gave Voldemort more of an advantage. Knowing this, Voldemort increased his speed until he managed to hit Harry once again.

Harry found himself air-born as a spell he didn't know collided with him. He hit the wall behind him with his back hard before he slid to the ground and landed painfully on his shoulder. Harry groaned and brought himself to his knees and let out a hiss of breath as his shoulder throbbed, which lead Harry to believe he tore the muscle their. He looked up just in time to see Voldemort lift a bench from one of the House Tables with his wand and throw it in his direction. Harry felt his eyes widen in shock, and he hurriedly picked his wand arm up and pointed at the flying piece of wood and shouted the first spell that came into mind, putting as much power into the spell as he could.

"Reducto!"

The spell hit it's target perfectly and shattered the wood into hundreds of pieces as the spell continued on. Harry hissed in pain as some of the splinters of wood buried themselves into his skin. Just as Harry began to pull out a bigger piece from his leg he heard a loud scream of fury, frustration, and pain. Harry snapped his eyes over to the source and gasped aloud. Voldemort stood their clutching his fingers, blood running down his hands and onto the ground. Harry's eyes followed the dripping blood onto the ground and found an alarming amount already there, and to Harry's amazement, two fingers knuckle to nail in the pool of blood. Harry had but off Voldemort's fingers.

On. Bloody. Accident.

Once Harry's shock wore off he gave into the urge to laugh uncontrollably, and felt Voldemort's anger rise.

"You already have no nose, what's a few fingers?"

Harry saw the anger in Voldemort's eyes turn into pure fury, and rolled onto his side as Voldemort waved his wand and sent a black curse that Harry recognized as the one that clawed his back at the Riddle House. Voldemort continued shooting spells, curses and unforgivables at Harry with vengeance. Harry once again started to feel his power wane as he blocked and ducked curses, but made the mistake of jumping right into Voldemort's next spell again, which happened to be the Cruciatus Curse.

Harry had the fleeting thought of, _again?, _before the curse hit him and made him gasp aloud as pain engulfed him. Voldemort kept the curse on him much longer than before, for how much longer Harry didn't know, and Voldemort took it off when he gave up on the idea of making Harry scream. Harry barely had a second to catch his breath before Voldemort used his moment of weakness against him.

"Imperio!"

Instantly Harry felt the pain leave him and his mind clear of all thoughts, not hearing the intake of breath from the surprised crowd, who watched Harry carefully for any flicker of emotion on his blank face. It took Harry a brief moment to fight to curse, but he knew what Voldemort wanted him to do; lower his wand and recite the Prophesy to him. Keeping his face blank, Harry lowered his wand to his side, and noted the look of glee on Voldemort's snake-like face. Harry opened his mouth,

"Sorry mate, you'll have to try harder than that."

Harry raised his wand and fired Sectumsempra at him, who deflected it with a look of annoyance.

"You can thank your Death Eater for helping me overthrow that curse." Harry taunted as he blocked the spells thrown back at him.

After a few minutes of this Voldemort felt his impatience thin until he could no longer stand it. Voldemort pointed his wand at the ground in front of Harry and fired a strong curse, and watched with satisfaction as the cement exploded, and sent Harry onto his back with sharp shards of broken cement penetrating him. With Harry in pain and shock on the ground, Voldemort called over two Death Eaters and whispered an order to them, and watched as they rushed to the 'Chosen One' and lifted him off the ground and held his arms tightly as he struggled against them.

"Let me go! What are you doing?" Harry shouted the last bit at Voldemort.

But Voldemort ignored him, and had his eyes locked on someone behind the shield erected around them. Voldemort then called two more Death Eaters to him, one being Bellatrix, and gave them an order Harry couldn't hear. But Harry quickly figured it out as the Death eaters holding him moved towards the shield while Bellatrix and her husband moved towards the crowd with their wands out.

"I'm done playing game Potter," Voldemort said as he watched Harry struggle more violently, "Times up."

Harry watched as the Lestranges whispered a spell that allowed them access into the shield, and Bellatrix restrained Sirius as soon as they entered with her husband protecting her from the others, and Harry tried to turn his head to look at Sirius as he was being dragged towards Voldemort, but the Death Eaters holding him thrusted him through the shield and left without another glance in his direction. Harry started forward towards Sirius, but a pair of strong arms pulled him back, and Harry turned his head to look at Remus as he tighten his grip.

"Remus, please! Let me go! Voldemort'll kill him!" Harry pleaded.

"We promised to protect you." Remus whispered in a broken voice.

Harry continued to struggle, trying to jerk his arms free and kicked out at Remus' feet, hoping to knock him off balance, but the werewolf was stronger and held Harry tighter.

"I don't trust Potter," Voldemort started, his eyes locked on Sirius in front of him, "I wouldn't think _everyone_ would take the Unbreakable Vow, I know he trusts you enough. So tell me, what does the Prophesy say?"

Sirius stared at Voldemort in disbelief for a moment, and then gave a humorless chuckle, "Even if I hadn't taken the Vow, are you stupid enough to believe I would tell you anything?" Sirius asked.

Voldemort flared his nostrils, "You're right, Black. But I could still get your precious Savior to tell me."

Voldemort then raised his wand directly in front of Sirius, which vividly reminded Harry of his dream, and he started to panic and fight harder against Remus.

"Just let me go, I can stop him!" Harry whispered frantically to Remus, and ignored the voices near him trying to reassure him.

Voldemort shot Sirius with a spell that sent him to his knees with a grimace of pain, but Sirius quickly hid it. Voldemort smirked as he glanced at Harry, and saw the panic and fear on his face.

"Now, why does this seem familiar? Oh yes, a man protecting the child he loves. How bittersweet." Voldemort said with a chuckle.

If looks could kill, Remus, Harry, and Sirius would of disintegrated Voldemort on the spot.

"How dare you talk about James!" Sirius shouted as he got to his feet, "He was ten times the man you pretend to be!"

Voldemort's eyes flashed red with anger, and turned his wand back on Sirius.

"I'm done with you, Black. Any last words?"

Those words sent Harry into a full panic and he began to claw at Remus' arms and his feet kicking out. Ron tried to help restrain him, but still kept his eyes on Sirius. Sirius looked over at Remus and gave him a small nod as their locked, and Remus understood; _I'm sorry_. Sirius then turned his eyes to Harry and gave a forced smile with glazed eyes before he turned back to Voldemort.

"See you in hell." Sirius snarled.

Voldemort only chuckled at his words, unaware of what was happening in the crowd.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No! Grab him!"

"Sirius!"

Sirius closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the jet of green light fly towards him, and for a brief moment wondered if this was how James felt, knowing he was leaving Harry fatherless, or in this case godfatherless. But the only thing Sirius felt was something sag against him and his arms automatically hooked under the person's arms. Opening his eyes, Sirius first saw the incredible sight of Voldemort lying on the ground unmoving while Death Eaters panicked around him. Sirius then forced himself to look down at the person he held. Sirius felt tears sting his eyes as a loud cry of agony left his mouth.

"Harry!" He gasped before his knees gave out.

* * *

I finished this chapter quicker than I expected, but I'm glad I got it done. I'd like to see some more reviews, I love to hear from you!


	34. Chapter 34: In My Blood

Harry awoke with a startled gasp. He instantly sat up from his place on the floor and looked around the room, and his eyes widened with shock. _How had he ended up in Gryffindor Tower?_ Seconds ago he had been fighting Voldemort in the Great Hall. _The Killing Curse_. Harry hesitantly placed his hand over his heart, right where the curse had hit, but felt nothing except his rapid heartbeat. Harry faltered, was he dead? He quickly glanced up and stared at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, if he had died, why was he here?

A sudden noise behind Harry shocked him and he twisted his body to find the source. Harry thought for a moment he had been looking in a mirror; a young man with messy black hair and glasses stared back at him, but Harry realized this person had square glasses, hazel eyes, had different clothes, and was standing up. Harry sprung to his feet and felt his pockets for his wand, feeling panic course through him.

"Easy son." The man said softly, and held his hands out to show he didn't mean harm, "I won't hurt you. I just couldn't sit still long enough for you to notice us."

Harry's eyes drank in the sight of the man in front of him, trying to find any clue that might hint this was trick, but Harry felt a faint connection to the man standing near him, and knew it wasn't.

"Dad?" He whispered uncertainly.

James beamed and nodded his head before reaching out and eloping his son in his arms. Harry hadn't been prepared for all the emotion that hit him as he found himself in his fathers embrace. He felt himself instantly relax, he felt happiness, warmth, protected and more safe than he had ever felt. Harry willed for his tears to go away as he buried his face in his dads neck, but he felt his tears soak his dads shirt.

"It's okay Harry." James whispered soothingly, and stroked Harry's hair.

Harry felt a few more tears squeeze through his closed eyes before he inhaled a shaky breath and pulled away, but didn't let go of James' arms, afraid he would disappear if he let go. James kept a hold of Harry as well, and thoroughly looked at his son with a slightly shocked expression.

"Is it my turn yet, James?" Someone asked from the couch besides them, and Harry turned his head to look at the source.

He let out a small gasp as he saw his mother staring at him with her bright green eyes welled with tears, and as she stood up she used the back of her hand to brush an escaped tear. James gave Harry's arm a squeeze before he let go in time for Lily to throw herself into Harry's arm, who stood there stunned for a moment before he gathered his wits and wrapped his arms around her, and felt her body shake from her sobs. Harry was almost as tall as her, and had to lower his head down slightly to rest it on her shoulder, only to have her red hair block his vision. Harry smiled as he looked at her hair, and noticed it was a few shades darker than Ginny's. Lily then pulled away and grasped his shoulder with one hand and used the other to run it through his hair and down his face until it rested on his cheek.

"My baby boy." She choked out with a smile, though tears still ran down her cheeks.

"He isn't a baby anymore, Lils." James said as he put an arm over her and Harry's shoulders.

"He'll always be my baby boy." Lily said, ignoring the chuckle her husband gave.

Harry grinned, not at all annoyed by the nickname she had given him, but found it warmed him that she called him that. Harry glanced at both of his parents, a million questions running through his mind.

"Am I dead?" The question left his mouth without his permission.

James let out a laugh while Lily pressed her lips together, and Harry wasn't sure if she was suppressing a smile or a sob.

"No, you aren't." James answered.

Harry felt his eyebrows knit together in confusion, "But the killing curse should of killed me, isn't that why I'm here? Where ever here is?" Harry asked with rising panic.

Lily cupped his chin and forced him to look at her as James tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder.

"Yes, under normal circumstances you should of died, but nothing is ever normal with you, is it?" Lily explained with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Harry felt himself blush for some unknown reason, but kept his eyes locked with his mothers.

"When Voldemort murdered me the night he came for you, he had all he needed to create a Horcrux after he killed me. And when he tried to kill you -" Lily's voice faltered before she cleared her throat, " -and the curse rebounded, he accidentally created a Horcrux within your scar."

The reminder of the Horcrux inside him made Harry nauseous and pale, and his breathing picked up.

"Calm down son, it's gone, it's over." James quickly said, noticing Harry's growing panic.

"What?" Harry asked, sounding breathless.

"Voldemort connected you both together the night he returned, by taking your blood that held your mothers sacrifice," James paused a moment to control his anger, "But he didn't know that by doing that it would anchor his life to yours and strengthen the bond between you two from the Horcrux. And by doing so he gave you the power to remove you soul from the Horcrux when it was destroyed, ironically by Voldemort himself."

"Voldemort didn't mean to kill me, the curse was meant for Sirius." Harry told him.

James grimaced, "That was an incredibly stupid and brave thing for you to do, to take the curse for him."

Harry found himself at a disadvantage, he had never been scolded by his father before, so he didn't know how to react or what to say.

"Yes, how could you do that? Without thinking?" Lily added in the same scolding tone, and smacked Harry lightly on the shoulder.

"I couldn't let him die!" Harry yelled in defense, "He's one of the few people that loves me, I wouldn't let him die in my place."

Lily's eyes softened and welled with tears once again, while James looked lost.

"You don't believe that honey, do you? That you aren't loved?" Lily whispered, horrified.

"Damn Dursley's." James muttered angrily under his breath.

Harry avoided their gazes and looked down at his feet.

"You couldn't be more wrong. We love you, Remus loves you, Tonks, the Weasley's, Hermione, your friends, they all love you. Ginny told you she loves you." Lily whispered.

Harry's head picked up at the mention of Ginny, "You've been watching, you know about Ginny and I?" He asked.

"We approve, if that's what you wanted to know, you need someone like her." James said with a smirk.

Harry felt heat rise to his cheeks at his fathers words, and it didn't help when his mum put her two galleons worth in, "Ginny is such a sweet girl, and obviously loves you. Don't let her get away."

Harry felt the urge to groan at her words, but as her words repeated inside his head again, he paused.

"I have to go back, don't I?" He asked.

Lily gave him an encouraging smile with a trace of sadness in her eyes, while James beamed at him.

"You have the chance to beat him and live the life you deserve." James said.

Harry felt confusion rise in him, didn't they want him to stay?

"Why can't I stay with you? I've done my part in this war, someone else can kill him, he's mortal. I-"

"Haven't you been listening to us? God yes, I want you to stay Harry, but not yet. Not when you have your whole life a head of you. You have fantastic friends and people that love you waiting for you to wake up right now. We can wait, for a long time, but you go and live your life first." Lily argued, her voice choking towards the end.

Harry closed his eyes for a brief moment, and images of Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Remus, Sirius, everyone that he cared for flashed in his mind, and right then and there he knew his choice.

"How do I get back?" He asked.

"You wake up." James said with a shrug, as if it had been obvious.

"Wait, is this all real? Or is it all inside my head?" Harry found himself asking.

Lily let out a laugh that she could barely control, and Harry felt his lips tug up into a smile, while James let out a chuckle.

"Of course it's happening inside your head! But why should that not mean that it's real?" James replied, and it vaguely sounded like something Dumbledore would say.

Harry gave his parents a quivering smile before he was eloped in both their arms, being squeezed so hard they rivaled Mrs. Weasley. When they finally let go of him, Harry became panicked as he found their figures disappearing and the sounds around him deafening, almost as if he was gaining consciousness.

"It's okay Harry, we'll stick with you." James said, though Harry could barely hear him.

"Always." Lily whispered.

Harry could feel himself waking up slowly, and accepted it.

* * *

Sirius sat on the back of his feet, Harry's head cradled in his lap. But Sirius found himself with shock still coursing through his veins._ Of all the stupid, impulsive things Harry had done..._ Sirius put his fist to his lips and choked back a sob, looking down at his dead godson. The irony of it all was Harry looked so peaceful, he could of been sleeping if you hadn't known. Sirius stroked back a bloody piece of hair from Harry's forehead, his eyes scanning down the broken and bloody body of Harry, his mind flashing back to August when they had rescued him. There could be no rescue now. A shout from the other side of the hall interrupted Sirius' train of thought and he looked up, and felt a jolt of shock run through his body.

Voldemort laid on the ground with his Death Eaters surrounding him, and Bellatrix tried to fix his hand injury while snarling orders to her comrades. Sirius forced himself not to look down at Harry, but turned towards the crowd, and instantly locked eyes with Remus, who looked back at him with wide and watery eyes, his face as pale and gaunt as everyone else's. Sirius wouldn't make eye contact with anyone else, he couldn't stand to see anymore anguish. Sirius watched as Remus' eyes flickered down to Harry' body before looking back at him, and he recognized the look of self-loathing and fear on the werewolf's face.

Sirius didn't want to leave Harry, but he wanted to make Remus understand he couldn't of done anything to stop Harry. Voices of the crowd suddenly crashed down on Sirius, and he could hear people screaming, crying, calling out various names. And Sirius almost broke when he heard Ron, Hermione, and Ginny crying out Harry's name. He wished that they would come over, but the shield would have to be down, and by the looks of it it wasn't, which meant Voldemort had survived. _Fuck_. Voldemort had survived, and Harry hadn't. Fury replaced his agony, boiling in his veins with newfound adrenaline. Voldemort had to be mortal now, all seven Horcruxes had been destroyed. The anger over what Dumbledore had hidden from them hit Sirius as well, and was glad he hadn't seen the Headmaster in sight.

Harry wouldn't be the only casualty. Sirius looked down at Harry once more and kissed his forehead, avoiding the blood that stained his skin, and before he could open his eyes a pair of arms linked under his arms and hauled him to his feet. Sirius looked at the Death Eater, not knowing his name or face, and tried jerking his arms out of the mans hold, furious as he saw Harry's head hit the ground.

"Let me go! So help me Merlin I will kill you!" Sirius screamed, using all his strength to fight the Death Eater off.

He managed to get out of the Death Eaters hold right by the shield, but Sirius' opponent shoved both his hands against Sirius' chest, sending him through the shield. Sirius fell into Ron, who barely managed to keep them both up, but with Hermione's help they both steadied themselves.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked, regretting it the second after he said it.

"Are you?" Ron shot back, his voice laced with pain.

Sirius bit his lip and looked towards Harry, on the ground in the middle of the hall, alone. Sirius heard a familiar voice behind him and turned to see Dumbledore free of his binds, standing next to McGonagall, and as Sirius went to charge in their direction, a collection of gasps stopped him in his tracks. Sirius whipped his body around to find the source of the noise, his hopes rising without his permission. Sirius felt his face fall as he watched Death Eaters swarm around Voldemort's body, and saw Voldemort open his eyes. Bellatrix found her way to her master's side and offered her hand to him, which made Voldemort glare at her.

"I do not require assistance." He hissed as he stood.

A hush fell on the crowd as they watched Voldemort gather himself and his wand, and then lock eyes on Harry's unmoving figure. Sirius expected to find Voldemort's eyes full of humor and triumph, but found curiosity instead.

"The boy, is he dead?" Voldemort finally asked.

No one said a word, but Sirius could hear Ginny's intake of breath, almost as if she had been punched in the stomach. He wanted to turn around and hold her, anything to comfort her, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Voldemort, he wanted to see the bastards next move.

"You," Voldemort said, pointing at a nearby Death Eater, who turned to look at Voldemort, "Check for me, see if Potter is dead."

The Death Eater gave Voldemort a bow before he turned and started to walk towards Harry. Sirius felt a urge to yell at him to leave Harry alone, but he caught sight of long black greasy hair peeking out from their hood and saw cold black eyes hiding behind the mask, he knew it had to be Snape. For some reason Sirius felt grateful it was Snape checking Harry, he trusted that Snape was on their side, after everything he had done. Snape reached Harry and kneeled down beside him, and hope rose inside Sirius once again. Maybe Harry had woken up when Voldemort had.

Snape pressed two fingers against Harry's throat and probed around, looking for a pulse, and then opened his eye lids and checked his pupils, and after he bent his ear down to Harry's month, trying to listen for any breathing. His cloak hood fell over his head and shielded his face as well as Harry's, but a moment later he straightened and stood up.

"Dead, my lord." Snape finally said.

As soon as the words left Snape's mouth Voldemort smirked proudly, and then a loud, gloating laugh left his mouth. Sirius clenched his teeth and his fists, but when Remus started to move in Voldemort's direction Sirius had to grab hold of him and pulled him back.

"Trust me, I want more than everything to rip his kidneys out and stuff them in his mouth to shut him up, but we can't do anything right now. Just wait." Sirius whispered in Remus' ear.

Remus began shaking in his arms from barely suppressed anger, and Sirius thought best to keep a hold on him for a while. Sirius turned his head and saw Ron being held back by Neville and Hermione whispering to both of them as she held Ginny, while Fred held back George, anger racing through all of them.

"You see?" Voldemort yelled after he finished laughing, "Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!"

Sirius wanted to scream his anger as the spell hit Harry's body, and while others gasped at Voldemort's cruelty, Voldemort used his wand to lift Harry's body into the air, chuckling each time it hit the ground. This caused an uproar from the crowd, people forgot their fear as they screamed and shouted for him to leave Harry alone, to stop what he was doing. Voldemort ignored them and stopped when he pleased, leaving Harry in puddle of his own blood from his previous injuries.

"Your savior is dead Dumbledore! All your hard work, just for him to die like his parents, proud like his father and trying to protect someone like his mudblood mother. Pathetic."

Protect someone like his mother, it clicked in Sirius' mind. Had Harry given Sirius the same protection Lily had given him? Perhaps everyone else because of Voldemort's threat? Their was only one way to find out.

"Coward! Why don't you take this shield down and fight like a real man!" Sirius shouted, and others yelled their agreement.

Voldemort snapped his head in Sirius' direction, his red eyes blazing with anger, "You dare call me a coward? You let your little godson take a curse meant for you."

Sirius snarled, his fury rearing it's ugly head. Remus now had to grab onto Sirius as he raised his wand.

"Harry's more a man than you'll ever be! He doesn't hide behind anyone like you do with your damn Death Eaters!"

"You'll be the first I deal with after I decide what to do with the boy's body." Voldemort hissed as he pointed his wand to Harry's body.

"I'm not waiting until whatever time pleases you!" Sirius yelled.

And with that he broke free of Remus' hold and charged towards Voldemort, who watched with amusement. Sirius felt the shield as he went through it, but it didn't hold him back, Voldemort's magic couldn't overpower the protection Harry had given him. Voldemort stood for a moment stunned by what Sirius had done, and that moment was all the crowd needed for them to follow Sirius and charge through the shield themselves, their wands raised in defiance as they ran towards the Death Eaters.

The Great Hall was once again in chaos as students, teachers and Death Eaters fought each other, spells and curses flying everywhere. Sirius was aware of Remus and Dumbledore following him as he ran towards Voldemort, and didn't have time to yell at either of them to leave him, he knew he could use their help. As soon as Sirius had a clear shot to Voldemort he shot a killing curse, not caring if it was an Unforgivable. Voldemort dodged it and shot his own back, and Sirius had to duck to avoid it, and heard it hit a window behind him.

"Expulso!" Sirius yelled as Dumbledore shot a stunner.

Voldemort's shield broke as both spells hit it simultaneously, and Remus had an open opportunity.

"Conjunctivitis!" Remus yelled.

Voldemort cried out as his vision was momentarily distorted, and Sirius quickly shot 'Defodio', and watched with relish as a small piece of Voldemort's left arm was cut off. Sirius never enjoyed inflicting pain on others as most of his family had, but as he heard Voldemort scream with outrage and pain, he smiled. Voldemort used all of his anger and pointed his wand at the ground in front of all three of them and yelled a spell Sirius wasn't familiar with, but as the spell hit Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore found themselves air born and landed painfully on the other side of the hall.

Sirius cried out as he landed on a broken piece of glass, and gritted his teeth as he grabbed the hilt of the glass and quickly pulled it out of his side, a shout of pain leaving his mouth as he did. He threw the bloody piece of glass away from him and shakily got to his feet, looking around for any sight of Remus. He found Ron and Ginny fighting a Death Eater together, and by the looks of it their were winning the fight, and close by he saw Hermione and some dirty blonde haired girl around the same age fighting a Death Eater together.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled from near by, and Sirius turned to his right and found Remus crippled on the ground.

Sirius ran over to him and fell to his knees besides Remus, who had become even more white and was sweating.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Sirius asked, desperation in his voice.

Remus arched his back off the ground slightly and pointed to his back, "I fell on a piece of silver and it's piercing my back." He croaked out.

Sirius felt his eyes widen. Silver was deadly to werewolves. He quickly rolled Remus onto his side and easily found the piece of silver prodding from his back, blood staining his shirt around the wound. As he went to lift Remus' shirt a shadow fell over them, and Sirius raised his wand to defend them, but found he didn't need to.

"Calm down, cousin! I'll shield you both, just help him." Tonks said as she created a shield over all three of them.

Sirius didn't have time to argue, so nodded and lifted Remus' shirt up. Sirius gasped as he found the skin around the wound a sickly grey and his blue and purple veins easily stuck out. Taking a deep breath, Sirius gripped the piece of silver and quickly pulled it out of Remus' back, muttering apologizes as Remus arched his back more and cried out.

"So glad you finally joined the fight!" Sirius yelled to Tonks over the noise as he conjured a wrap to cover Remus' wound.

"Most of the Order is here. The wards Voldemort put up went down before the fight started, don't know why." Tonks explained.

Sirius thought he might know why but kept his mouth shut as he rolled Remus onto his back and looked down at him, fear running through him as he found Remus shaking slightly and was still pale and hadn't stopped sweating.

"It got into my bloodstream." Remus whispered.

"You'll be fine," Sirius whispered, ignoring the panic and fear that flared inside him, "Tonks, can you get him somewhere safe? I have some unfinished business to take care of."

Before Tonks could say anything Sirius looked down at Remus and gave a forced grin, "Your girlfriend will take of you, I'm going to feed Voldemort his kidneys."

Remus let out a choked laugh, and as Sirius stood up to take Tonks place in shielding them he found Dumbledore and Voldemort fighting in the middle of the hall, and Harry was no where to be seen. _Where was he?_ Sirius fought back his panic, he didn't want to worry Remus. Tonks carefully helped Remus off the ground and Sirius shielded them as they hurried towards the now open doors and out of the room where all the action was at. When they were out of sight Sirius instantly joined the fight, shooting curses at various Death Eaters and helping others out, his eyes on the look out for Harry.

He went to pass Hermione, Ginny, and that blonde haired girl he had saw earlier when he saw who they were fighting, and paused. Bellatrix laughed as the girls continued firing curses in her direction, and when she found an opening she went for Ginny.

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix yelled.

Sirius grabbed Ginny around the waist and pulled her down on the ground with him, landing painfully on his wound next to Ginny. The curse flew past them and hit one of the doors to the Great Hall, making the wood splinter and break apart. As Sirius helped Ginny to her feet they were pushed back by someone, and as Sirius went to raise his wand at the person he heard them speak.

"Not my daughter, you bitch!" Mrs. Weasley yelled angrily.

Sirius saw Molly standing in front of them, her wand drawn out and pointed at Bellatrix, who laughed at her new opponent. Tonks was right, the Order had joined the fight, he could see a few of them in crowd now. Sirius ushered Ginny out of the way and over to Hermione and the other girl, and left as Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her close, and went over to help Molly. He was almost at her side when she shot the killing curse at Bellatrix, who couldn't move fast enough to block it, and fell dead the moment the curse hit her. Sirius stopped in his tracks, he couldn't believe what he had just saw.

Sirius snapped out of his daze when Voldemort screamed, not doubt from seeing his best lieutenant fall at the hands of an Order Member. Sirius hurried to Molly and grabbed her hand, feeling it tremble in his and he pulled her over to him. Molly turned her fearful eyes onto him and then glanced over at Voldemort, who began to raise his wand in their direction. A ripple in the air in front of them startled Sirius, but turned his attention back to Voldemort, who paused as Sirius placed himself in front of Molly.

"Do you honestly think I won't blow you both to pieces? Especially you Black, after everything you've already done?" Voldemort hissed.

"I don't think you can, I think Harry made sure you can't touch any of us again." Sirius replied, unable to keep his anger from his voice.

"Fancy your chances against me, Black? Want to test the theory?" Voldemort asked, toying with his wand.

"I'd rather you didn't." A voice in front of Sirius spoke.

Sirius froze in his spot, no one was between him or Voldemort, everyone had moved out of their way after Molly killed Bellatrix. A ripple went through the air again and this time didn't stop until it hit the ground, transforming into a cloak, and Harry stood where the ripple had been seconds ago, staring back at Voldemort with rage evident on his face.

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A/N: This by far has to be one of the most challenging chapter's I've ever written, but I think it came out pretty good for not knowing how I wanted to end the chapter. I'd like to see more reviews, I like hearing about what you think about the story!


	35. Chapter 35:Everything Comes With A Price

Harry slowly regained his consciousness, vaguely aware of voices around him in various states of panic. For a moment Harry wondered what had happened before it all rushed back to him; the fight, Voldemort, _everything_. Harry forced himself to remain still and unmoving, as well as to keep his eyes remaining closed, but when the hall suddenly went quiet he was tempted to sneak a peek.

"I do not require assistance." Voldemort snapped angrily at someone.

_Ah, Voldemort had awoke as well._ Harry saw him fall the second before he lost consciousness, or whatever had happened to him. Harry could hear Death Eaters, he assumed, gathering around Voldemort as he stood, and then Voldemort broke the silence.

"The boy, is he dead?"

_Shit. What did Voldemort plan to do?_ Harry tried to search their connection to see if he could find out, but with a barely concealed jolt Harry realized it wasn't there. The connection was gone as well as Harry's usual scar pain. _The horcrux was gone_. Harry had to lock his jaw and bite down on his lip so he wouldn't smile.

"You, check for me, see if Potter is dead."

Harry felt his heart begin to beat faster as fear ran through his body. _Who did Voldemort send to check on him? Would they ruin his plan of surprising Voldemort?_ He strained his ears and heard footsteps coming in his direction and sensed the person kneel down beside him. Harry held his breath as the person pressed two rough fingers against his throat to feel for his pulse, and felt them pause as they felt his erractic pulse. After a moment he felt their hands leave his throat and felt them peel back his eyelids. Harry stared at Snape as he looked down at him incredulously, his mouth gaping. Harry fought back a grin at his reaction. Snape grimaced and closed Harry's eyes, and then bent his head down to feel his any breath. Harry saw behind his eyelids the light disappear and felt Snape close to his face.

"Do you have a plan?" Snape asked so quietly Harry barely heard him.

"Yes." Harry breathed.

Snape then moved away from Harry and stood.

"Dead, my lord." He announced.

Harry heard the sharp intake of breath from the crowd before Voldemort started laughing, a cruel, sadistic laugh that made Harry want to cringe.

*"You see?" Voldemort asked, "Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!"*

Harry felt the curse hit him but didn't feel it's effects, which Harry was extremely grateful for, twitching around and screaming would probably give away that he wasn't dead. And then he felt his body lift from the ground and fall back down, and Voldemort continued to Harry's humiliation. The crowd then started to shout and yell their protest of what Voldemort was doing to him, but Voldemort ignored them and continued until he was finished. Harry fell back to the ground and felt his hoodie soak in his blood that had pooled onto the ground.

"Your savior is dead Dumbledore! All your hard work, just for him to die like his parents, proud like father and trying to protect someone like his mudblood mother. Pathetic."

Harry his anger boil at Voldemort's words. How dare he bring up his parents! A memory resurfaced to his mind and before Harry could latch onto it it vanished, leaving him confused. _What had happened?_

"Coward!" Harry heard Sirius yell, "Why don't you take down this shield and fight like a real man!"

"You dare call me a coward? You let your little godson take a curse meant for you." Voldemort snapped back.

Sirius' snarl covered the gasp that left Harry's mouth at Voldemort's dig. He had no mercy whatsoever. _Bastard._

"Harry's more a man than you'll ever be! He doesn't hide behind anyone like you do with your damn Death Eaters!" Sirius screamed back, anger lacing his voice.

Harry felt his heart stutter when he heard his name, but couldn't deny that what Sirius said had warmed his heart.

"You'll be the first I deal with after I decide what to do with the boy's body." Voldemort hissed.

Harry felt his body tense, he needed to move. He couldn't let Voldemort hit him with anything else, should he reveal himself now-?

Sirius' voice distracted Harry from his thoughts, "I'm not waiting until whatever time please you!"

Harry the heard loud footsteps running in his direction, no doubt Sirius, and Harry waited with batted breath. Would Sirius be able to cross the shield without getting hurt? Sirius continued running and didn't stop, which lead Harry to believe the shield hadn't been able to stop him. Then he heard the crowd roar as they charged with Sirius as well. Harry took the chance and opened his eyes, and went them widen as he watched the students and teachers pick Death Eaters to fight with. Seeing no one looking towards his direction, Harry grabbed his wand while he reached for the Invisibility Cloak he kept on him at all times with the fang in his hoodie pocket and threw it over himself and stood. _Merlin it felt good to move again!_

And then his chest seared with intense pain, and he stumbled a moment before he caught his balance again. _What the hell?_ Harry didn't have to check what was wrong, and with his other injuries flaring with pain and stinging as well, he ignored it and join the crowd, trying to maneuver his way through without touching people, and shot curses at random Death Eaters when he could. Harry couldn't find Sirius or Remus, but he could hear them shouting curses somewhere ahead of him. He turned to his right when he heard a familiar voice cry out in pain and snarled furiously. Ginny stumbled as the cut to her leg started to bleed profusely and Hermione managed to catch her before she fell, and gripped her tightly around the waist as she raised her wand towards the Death Eater Ginny had been fighting.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted under his cloak with his wand pointed in front of him.

The Death Eaters wand left him and flew towards Harry, who ducked and let it fly somewhere behind him, and then hit him with an '_Impedimenta_'. When the Death Eater fell Hermione and Ginny shared a confused glance and looked around to see who had help but found no one. They didn't get much time to think on it, Hermione pointed her wand at Ginny's leg and a bandage shot out of her wand and wrapped itself around Ginny's wound, stopping the blood flow for now. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and profusely thanked Hermione in his head, and then stumbled as the ground shook.

Harry fell into Dean, who had been standing near him, but quickly regained his balance and ignored Dean as he looked around for whoever fell into him. Harry gasped as he watched Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore fly through the air and land rather painfully on the ground. Harry ran in the direction of Sirius and Remus, his anger at Dumbledore for what he had done overruling his judgment as Harry didn't bother to go where he fell. When Harry reached Remus he felt his face pale as he watched the werewolf arch his back off the ground and tried to remove something stuck in his back, but couldn't reach it.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled.

Harry looked up and saw Sirius hurrying through the crowd, not at all bothered by the thought of Voldemort, who stood watching from across the hall in amusement. Harry wanted to charge at Voldemort and kill him with his bare hands, but Dumbledore appeared through the crowd and raised his wand at Voldemort and continued their previous duel. Harry didn't dwell on them, he looked back in time to see Sirius throw himself onto the ground by Remus, his face revealing his panic at Remus' condition.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Sirius quickly asked.

Remus arched his back off the ground again and tried to point towards it, "I fell on a piece of silver and it's piercing my back."

Harry didn't understand right away why Sirius looked like a Dementor had approached, but as he rolled Remus onto his side and inspected the wound did it dawn on Harry. Werewolves and silver didn't go together, it was fatal to a werewolf. For once something Snape had taught him helped. Sirius lifted Remus' shirt and gasped while Harry cringed. The skin around the wound was a grey color with blue and purple veins surrounding it. He had to look away before his stomach decided to empty itself, and felt someone approach them and turned to see Tonks, who looked ready to throw up as she saw Remus' wound but swallowed and tried to hid her disgust. Sirius then noticed someone had joined them and raised his wand in defense before he saw it was only Tonks.

"Calm down, cousin! I'll shield you, just help him." She said softly.

Sirius gave her a brief nod before he turned his attention back to Remus and gripped the silver piece piercing through Remus and without warning yanked it away from his flesh with a horrifying squelch that made Harry's stomach heave and Remus cry out in pain. As Harry took deep breaths to calm his stomach Sirius muttered his apologizes to Remus.

"So glad you finally joined the fight!" Sirius said loudly to Tonks as he covered Remus' wound with a conjured bandage.

Tonks grinned, "Most of the Order is here. The wards Voldemort put up went down before the fight started, don't know why." Tonks explained to him, her eyebrows pulling together as she tried to find an explanation to the wards suddenly failing.

Sirius then rolled Remus onto his back once again and checked him over, and Harry didn't know if Remus was supposed to still be as pale as he appeared and as sweaty, but by the fear that crossed his face momentary told Harry all he needed to know.

"It got into my bloodstream." Remus whispered.

"You'll be fine," Sirius promised before Remus could say anything else and then turned his head towards Tonks, "Tonks, can you get him somewhere safe? I have some unfinished business to take care of."

Sirius didn't wait to let Tonks answer and turned to Remus again, "Your girlfriend will take care of you. I'm going to feed Voldemort his kidneys."

Harry snorted quietly while Remus let out a choked laugh, his eyes full of mirth and pain as Sirius and Tonks helped Remus off the ground, and as Sirius looked around the room Tonks threw Remus' arm around her shoulder and told him to lean on her as Sirius shielded them, his eyes searching for any threat and flickering towards Voldemort and Dumbledore when he got the chance. Harry followed them all as they hurried over to the entrance of the Great Hall and watched as Sirius let down his shield as soon as Remus and Tonks were out of harms way, he began to walk in Voldemort's direction.  
_Please don't be anything stupid_, Harry begged him in his mind as he followed, ignoring the continuous pain radiating through his body from all his wounds. Harry guarded Sirius as he parted through the crowd with revenge on his mind, and was confused when he suddenly stopped at a sight in front of him that Harry couldn't see. In that moment a Death Eater Harry vaguely recognized went to shoot an '_Expulso_' at Sirius, and as Harry threw his wand up to shield him he heard Bellatrix cry,

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry quickly shot the same curse the Death Eater had back at him and hurried over to where he heard Bellatrix's voice come from, and unadulterated fury ran through his veins as he saw Sirius on the ground with Ginny, who looked shocked for a moment before Sirius got off the ground and offered her his hand, and with a trembling hand she took it. Harry clenched his hand over his wand and shoved people out of his way without guilt as he made his way over to Bellatrix, who grinned like a complete mad person at Ginny, his Ginny. Harry went to raise his wand when he suddenly found his path blocked by Mrs. Weasley, who seemed to appear from no where.

"Not my daughter, you bitch!" She yelled.

Harry felt his eyes widen in surprise at her words and when she began to duel with Bellatrix, his eyes quickly looking towards Ginny, who Sirius had guided over to Hermione and Luna, and then he started to walk over towards Mrs. Weasley, raising his wand to aid her. But Merlin she didn't need it.

"Avada Kedavra!" Molly snarled, using an Unforgivable for the first time in the duel.

That fact alone must of stunned Bellatrix, because she raised her wand at the last possible moment to try to defend herself, her attempt to save her own life in vain as the curse hit her and sent her falling dead to the ground. Harry barely blinked before Voldemort let out a scream of frustration, which Harry felt an immature impulse to laugh at, but the thought quickly vanished when Voldemort locked his eyes onto Mrs. Weasley, who looked back at him with horror and fear etched on her face. As Harry went to go stand in front of her, planning on finally revealing himself, Sirius rushed to her side and grabbed her hand, not aware of Mrs. Weasley turning her wide eyes onto him and looked back at Voldemort.

Harry didn't care that Sirius had stood in to protect her, he still walked over and stood in front of them both, and cursed inside his head when he tripped on the hem of the cloak, but as he turned his gaze to Sirius he found the man had placed himself in front of Mrs. Weasley. As Sirius and Voldemort glared at each other Harry spared a glance at the crowd that had once again formed, and found the Weasley's and Order Members in the front with their eyes fearfully watching the encounter. Harry frowned as he noted the Weasley children watching their mother with concerned and fearful expressions and Mr. Weasley with his jaw locked and eyes wide.

"Do you honestly believe I won't blow you both to pieces? Especially you Black, after everything you've already done?" Voldemort asked incredulously.

"I don't think you can, I think Harry made sure you can't touch us again." Sirius said angrily.

"Fancy your chances against me, Black? Want to test the theory?" Voldemort asked as he fingered his wand.

"I'd rather you didn't." Harry snarled, and let the cloak fall to his feet.

Harry pointed his wand towards Voldemort, whose eyes widen with surprise as the boy he thought he killed stood defiantly in front of him. Harry could hear the gasps of shock and people crying out his name, but Harry quickly looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Sirius, who looked back at him with wide eyes that began to fill with tears of joy as Harry's vibrant green eyes stared at him. Harry jerked his head towards the crowd before he snapped his head back to Voldemort, who seemed to still be in shock.

"Move Sirius, I don't want you both in the crossfire." Harry said, his voice echoing in the hall.

Harry's words seemed to break Voldemort from his trace, because he gave a short laugh and picked his wand arm up to point at Harry, but didn't fire. Harry caught Sirius and Mrs. Weasley joining the crowd out of the corner of his eye, and watched as Mr. Weasley grabbed his wife and held her close to him as their children moved closer to them while Ron and Hermione made sure to keep an eye on Sirius, who Harry noticed hadn't moved his eyes away from him.

"Come back just to protect them, have you? Sorry to disappoint, but after I find a way to subdue you they're the next target for my wand." Voldemort said coldly.

"Haven't you been watching this whole entire time? You can't touch them! When you hit me with that killing curse I gave them a protection similar to what my mother gave me. You can't touch them anymore, you made the same mistake as last time." Harry snapped back.

"I can't touch them, now can I?" Voldemort asked with a rising voice, clearly not liking how Harry told him what he couldn't do, "Are you confident in that? Let's see how Ms. Weasley reacts to my Cruciatus, I know how fond you are of her." Voldemort threw him a smirk as he raised his wand in Ginny's direction.

"NO!" Harry roared in outrage, "Don't you dare threaten her! You can't touch them, haven't you done enough damage?"

Voldemort gave him a crooked smile, "I don't think you know for sure if they all are protect by your little sacrifice, which failed, seeing as you're still alive."

Harry knew Voldemort wanted some sort of answer from him, he wanted to know himself if his sacrifice would be enough to protect them, but unlike his mother he had survived, would that make a difference? But Sirius broke through the shield that Voldemort had created, which had been powerful enough to keep all of Hogwarts students and teachers behind it. The sacrifice had to of worked.

"Explain how Sirius got through your shield then? Are you that weak that one man can break down a shield meant for hundreds?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Voldemort's glare hardened at Harry's words, obviously stuck on how to answer without making himself sound weak. But then Voldemort started to laugh, a high humorless laugh that seemed to chill the whole room. Harry opened his mouth to ask what the hell was wrong with him, but Voldemort started to speak.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How do you suppose you'll fight me with a heavily bleeding wound? It seems my killing curse did quite some damage to you, perhaps one more will finally kill you." Voldemort said with relish.

Harry quickly glanced down at his chest and was startled to find that he was indeed bleeding heavily, his blood had already stained through his shirt and began to seep further down the material. Harry raised a trembling hand to his chest and winced when his hand made contact with the wound and warm blood. When a sharp pain hit him he clenched his teeth and removed his bloody hand and wiped the blood on his trouser, leaving a worryingly amount of blood for everyone to see.

"I wouldn't sound so cocky if I were you, you're mortal once more. Anyone could kill you if I died, so it doesn't really matter. I've done my part of the Prophesy, but you wouldn't know that, would you?" Harry said, feeling satisfaction run through him as Voldemort's face darkened at Harry's teasing and the truth of his words.

As Voldemort raised his wand, Harry took the hint that he was done talking, and raised his own wand in defense. Both were weakened by their injuries but were able to continuously conjure spells to throw at each other. Harry felt his adrenaline kick in once again as the fight began to heat up as both started to indulge in darker curses; Voldemort favored the Unforgivables while Harry went for the gray curses Sirius had taught him. Harry had been vaguely aware of all the eyes on the battle he was engaged in and could somewhat hear their reactions at the fight, but it wasn't his main focus.

Voldemort began to accelerate his speed and Harry found himself beginning to lag and his vision blur slightly, and knew it couldn't be a good sign. He figured it had to be all the blood loss but couldn't do anything about it, not until Voldemort was taken care of. Feeling encouraged, Harry put more power behind his spells and shields much to Voldemort's frustration, who had began to tire from all the power he had used. Just as Harry felt that he had the upper hand in the fight his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, fortunately dodging Voldemort's last curse.

Voldemort paused for a second before he gave Harry a tantalizing smile that made Harry's blood boil and threw the killing curse. Harry fell to his side to avoid it and pointed his wand at Voldemort.

"Sectumsempra!" He shouted.

Voldemort barely had time to raise a shield to defend himself, but in his weakened state the curse went right through the shield and shattered it, and with a startled gasp cuts began to blossom on Voldemort's chest, staining his robes darker with the blood that instantly began to poor from the wounds. Voldemort stumbled as he grabbed his chest with his free hand and grasped the front of his robes in an attempt to seal his wounds and stop further blood flow. His trembling shock turned into fury as he gripped his wand tightly and jabbed it in Harry's direction.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry had managed to stay on his knees with his wand arm out and the other firmly on the ground to support his weight, but with all the power he had put behind his spell had his whole body shaking, which made it even harder for him to hold his body upright. The spells collided in mid-air and golden sparks flew from the middle, and both strained to gain the upper hand as they both bled heavily. Harry felt his eyes widen as his red jet of light started to overpower Voldemort's green one and move closer to him, who looked at Harry's with startled red eyes. At the exact moment Voldemort's eyes fluttered shut and began to collapsed both the killing curse and Harry's disarming spell hit him, which jolted his body as he fell to the ground. Harry watched as Voldemort's wand flew through the air in his direction and adjusted himself upright in time to catch the wand with his free hand, the handle warm and sticky from Voldemort's blood.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and felt his body tremble as a result. Suddenly cheers assaulted his eardrums as the crowd celebrated Voldemort's demise, but Harry found he couldn't share in their joy, his adrenaline had left him as quickly as it had come and immediately felt the pain of all his injuries. Harry cried out and fell to his side as his body tried to absorb all the agony he felt, and as Harry landed awkwardly on the ground he opened his eyes and found people rushing towards him, and for a moment Harry felt tense, thinking the mob of people were going to smother him, but as he looked closely he found it was the Weasley's, Sirius, and most of the Order running towards him. Harry let go of Voldemort's wand and clutched at his chest, which was giving him most of the pain he felt, and his fingers were instantly coated in his warm blood. Someone dropped to their knees in front of him and looked up to see Sirius' worried and pale face looking down at him, and gave him a weak smile.

"We won." Harry whispered hoarsely.

He heard a little bit of laughter from behind Sirius, who managed to give him a faint grin.

"You won," He corrected, "Tell me what's wrong, what hurts?" Sirius asked.

Harry went to open his mouth when a painful throb went through his chest and he let out a pitiful moan and closed his eyes. He heard Sirius and a few other people call out his name frantically but found he couldn't answer them, the pain became too overwhelming. _Why couldn't why stop talking and start helping him?_ Harry thought tiredly. He felt Sirius shake his shoulder in an attempt to make Harry open his eyes but Harry refused, he just wanted the pain to end, couldn't they understand?

"What happened Sirius, what happened to his chest?" He heard Ginny's voice, high pitched from her fear.

Harry felt another jolt run through him at her words. Why was she worried? His sluggish mind wondered, they had won...

"Voldemort's killing curse must of affected him somehow, I don't know. Arthur, could you help me with him? Stay back! He needs medical attention!" Harry heard Sirius' shrill voice yell over the wave of noise in the room.

He then felt two pair of arms slide under his back and legs and pick him up with a grunt, and then felt his head hit a hard chest. Harry recognized the smell of Sirius' cologne and relaxed in his arms, not conscious enough to be embarrassed at being carried like a child. As Sirius began to hurry off in a direction Harry couldn't comprehend he head familiar voices follow them, but as his mind became sluggish the voices drowned out. Harry felt his body slacken as his mind drift away from the pain and to somewhere blissfully numb.

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A/N: Finally got this chapter done! I don't think I've ever been so scared of writing a chapter in my life, but I was afraid I would mess it up, which hopefully I didn't. After I finish this story I'm contemplating whether or not I should do a sequel, what do you think?


	36. Chapter 36: Lost Souls

_"God yes, I want you to stay..."_

_"We'll stick with you."_

_"Always."_

Harry felt himself awake as his body jolted, and snapped his eyes open to see Sirius staring down at him as his body was lowered down on a bed in the Hospital Wing. Harry felt his breathing pick up as he looked around disoriented, and saw many injured people rushing in and about. _What had happened? What was wrong with him?_ As his body laid flat on the bed his chest gave a strong throb of pain that made Harry scream and press his hand on the wound in the hopes it would stop the throbbing. He re-opened his eyes and saw Sirius' was talking but Harry couldn't hear a word he had said, or anything for that matter, only a weird ringing in his ears. And then Sirius was pushed out of his line of vision and Madam Pomfrey stood over him, which should of comforted Harry but she sent him into a panic.

Harry tried to sit up and weakly pushed her hand away from his forehead and moved to get off the bed, but he felt a pair of arms stronger than him push down on his shoulders to make him lay down, and Harry yelped as an injury on his shoulder was irritated. He fell deaf to the hushed apologizes the person gave as Harry fell back against the bed, already feeling incredibly weak from resisting. He gave up on the thought of escaping from his bed as he tried to gather what had happened after he had awoke after getting hit by the killing curse, it was all a blur for him. But all he could focus on was the pain in his chest. _Breathe, ignore the pain_. He chanted inside his head, and as he regained his senses he realized he had closed his eyes and quickly opened them, jumping as he found himself face to face with an unknown witch, but he guessed by how she dressed she had to be a Healer, and she pulled back with an apologetic smile before she turned her head and ordered someone to grab a number of potions for her, and it took Harry a moment to realize they were all for him.

As the Healer waited for the potions she needed she whipped her wand out and dragged it down his chest, and a moment later Harry found himself without a shirt. The Healer gasped a little at the sight of the main injury on his chest, but then set to work and started running diagnosis charms on Harry to find out the main cause on pain, and Harry could tell by the look of confusion on her pale face that she couldn't find it. The Healer didn't have time to ponder on it because someone appeared at her side with a shirt full of potions and set them on the nightstand by his bed, and Harry was surprised by her assistant.

"M'ione?" He croaked as he tried to rest on his elbows to get a better look.

Hermione laid a hand on his uninjured shoulder and lightly pushed him back onto his back, "Take it easy, let Healer Williams fix you up."

Harry lifted his head to look around the room as Healer Williams looked through the potions Hermione had given her to administer to him, but with his blurry sight without his glasses made it difficult, so instead he turned back to Hermione. As she helped sort through the potions he found that she had a split lip and the back of her shirt was bloody, from what he couldn't see, and that she was limping on her left leg and had a bandage wrapped around her ankle, from a sprained or broken ankle maybe?

"I couldn't find any Blood Replenishing Potions, just about everyone here has needed one." Harry heard Hermione explain to the Healer.

"God damnit, he needs one badly, his body has lost twenty percent of it's blood. I'm surprised he hasn't gone into shock." Healer Williams said.

"Is there any other way he can replenish his blood? Do you know how to do it the Muggle way?" Hermione asked.

"We could do it that way, Madam Pomfrey has the supplies necessary. I just need to get his blood type and someone with the same type in order to do this. What's your blood type Granger?"

Healer Williams turned back to Harry and tapped her wand in the crease of his elbow.

"I'm B Positive, I've given blood before." Hermione answered as she watched.

"Well, Mr. Potter is in luck, he has the same type. Lucky coincidence. I'll be right back, roll up your sleeve Granger." And with that Healer Williams quickly ran into Madam Pomfrey's office.

Hermione sat down in a chair next to him and rolled up her sleeve and then grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it with a soft smile.

"Where's Sirius? Remus? The Weasley's?" Harry questioned as his eyes darted around the room, but with all the commotion he couldn't spot anyone he knew.

"Sirius had a wound on his side that needed to be healed, but he'll be fine. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley weren't that badly injured, but Ron has a few cracked ribs along with a broken collar bone and a concussion, and Ginny had a cut on her leg that tore through a muscle," Hermione stopped and stretched her neck to look across the room, "Their both with Healer's right now, they should be good."

Harry let out a shaky sigh and closed his eyes, "What about Remus? I saw what happened to him."

"You did? How di - never mind. He's in the second infirmary and Madam Pomfrey's helping him, but I think he needs help from St. Mungos." Hermione replied in a tired voice.

Harry clenched his shaking fingers together weakly. _He'll be fine, he has to be fine._ Healer Williams reappeared at Hermione's side with a thin metal pole with a square plastic bag attached with a clear tube running out of the bag with a needle at the end. Healer Williams ran her wand over Hermione for a moment before she nodded her head to herself and took Hermione's right arm in her hand and tapped at the skin at Hermione's elbow for a vein.

"Why aren't you with Ron?" Harry asked as Healer Williams stuck the needle through the skin.

Hermione looked away from her arm and gave him a grin, "Ron can wait, besides, he has his family with him and you looked like you needed some company." Hermione teased.

Harry grinned back at her, but it turned into a grimace as another pulse went through his wound and left him breathless. Hermione called his name but Harry shook his head at her, all that kept him from screaming was his lips pressed together.

"I need another Healer over here! I'm attending to someone else!" Healer Williams yelled over the noise.

Instead of a Healer Harry saw Sirius run over with his wand ready in his hand, "What does he need?"

"Mr. Black! You just had a wound sealed, you need to be careful." Healer Williams scolded.

"I'm fine, what does Harry need?" He asked.

Healer Williams let out a sigh of defeat, "He needs Bruise Remover applied and you could fix his nose, I'm afraid of using anything else, I don't know if it'll affect his chest wound or not."

Sirius nodded and grabbed a small jar off the nightstand and uncapped it before dipping his finger into it and looking over Harry for any bruises.

"You should be resting." Harry muttered as Sirius rubbed some of the cream in over his right wrist.

"I'm grateful for the concern, but I wasn't hurt that bad. I'm completely healed." Sirius informed him.

"Is anyone dead?" Harry asked the dreaded question.

Sirius paused with his fingers over Harry's neck and hesitated before answering, "Yes."

Harry felt a lump form in his throat, "Who?"

Sirius finished rubbing in the cream before he set the jar down and wiped his hand off on his trousers.

"There's at least over thirty Death Eater's dead, the flying coach Madam Hooch, I know some student's are dead but I don't know their names. At the Ministry a few people died as well, Madam Bones, the Minister, Percy Weasley, a few Aurors and civilians." Sirius said grimly.

"Percy's dead? Oh Merlin, do the Weasley's know?" Harry asked as his eyes looked towards the group of red-heads.

"They know," Hermione answered, and both boys looked at her, "I overheard Mr. Weasley telling Ron and Ginny on our way up here, he was there when it happened."

Harry closed his eyes as overwhelming guilt washed over him. All of it could of been avoided if he had fallen for Voldemort's trap, what's one life instead of countless others? He didn't even know everyone that he should be mourning...

"Sirius, someone needs to check Gryffindor Tower, there's a dead student and a hurt one, I think, I wasn't positive." Harry told his godfather, who seemed to turn even paler at the mention of another death.

"All the common rooms are being checked by Order Members." Sirius murmured his reply.

Harry relaxed against his pillows and took an audible deep breath. He had a lot of questions he wanted answered, but his emotions were crushing him, he could barely focus on one before another hit him. Sirius moved his chair closer to Harry's bed and grabbed his wand off the nightstand where he had set it, and with his free hand he clasped Harry's hand.

"I'm going to fix your nose real quick, you can squeeze my hand if it hurts." Sirius said in soothing voice, and Harry nodded.

A moment later Sirius positioned his wand in front of Harry's nose and jerked his wrist right as he whispered a spell, and Harry flinched and clenched Sirius' hand as his nose gave a loud crack as it repositioned itself right. Sirius let go of Harry's hand and grabbed tissue from the nightstand and gave it to Harry as his nose started to bleed again, and Harry gave a whispered thanks as he stuffed the tissue into his nose. Pain unexpectedly hit Harry once again in his chest and made him tense his body in an attempt to lessen the pain but it seemed to only make it worse, and Harry turned his head and hid his face in the pillow under him to stifle his cries.

"Can't you do anything?" He heard Sirius asked in a panic.

"I don't know how the potions I give him will affect his wound! I don't even know how to exactly heal it. Hang in there Harry, I'm almost done." Healer Williams said in a rush.

Her words gave Harry no comfort though, he had barely heard her over his own muffled cries. A moment later he felt Sirius lay his hand on his back, but Harry flinched at the sudden touch and curled his body into a ball instinctively, which made Sirius hesitated briefly before he started to gently rub Harry's back in an attempt to calm him somewhat.

"I'm done! Sirius, can you put a bandage on Granger and grab her something to drink or eat with sugar in it if she feels dizzy? Thanks, now Harry, I need you to roll over so I can replenish your blood, you'll feel a little better."

Harry felt Sirius move away from him, and took a moment to ready himself before he forced himself to roll over and face Healer Williams, who held a blood bag in her hand and started to prepare his right arm for her to transfer the blood into him. Harry's stomach rolled at the sight of the blood, and caught out of the corner of his eye Hermione's shaky fingers placing a bandage on her arm.

"Deep breath's Potter, you'll only feel a small pinch." Healer Williams told him in a calm voice.

Harry nodded and took a deep breath as instructed, and as he did she stuck the needle into his skin at his elbow. Harry couldn't feel the pinch of the needle over the pain in his chest, which was easing down, much to his relief. It took a good five minutes until the blood bag emptied and Harry regained half of the blood he'd lost, and Harry noticed as Healer Williams took the needle out of his arm and placed a bandage over the incision, that his vision was less blurry than normal and his heart stopped its frantic beating.

"Now, I'm going to inspect the wound on your chest and try to figure out how to heal it, and I have a feeling it'll hurt a bit." Healer Williams warned him.

Harry knew it needed to be done, and gave her a slight nod of his head to show his consent. Sirius maneuvered his way back to Harry's side and gripped his hand tightly for comfort, but Harry had a feeling it was more for Sirius' sake. And then Harry gasped loudly as Healer Williams placed her hands on his chest wound with no warning whatsoever, and the pressure of her hand made the wound pulse and pain radiated through his body stronger than ever, and despite the roar of noise in the hospital wing Harry's scream was heard by everyone.

Hermione rushed over from wherever she had been and jumped into Sirius' and Healer Williams screaming match over Harry, who wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and block out everything; the pain, his guilt, his roaring fear for everyone and himself. As if his body had listened to his thoughts, the familiar feeling of losing conscious started to consume him and dimmed the loud voices near him until they faded into nothing, and his vision turned black as his eye lids closed shut, and the first time that whole day he felt calm.

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes hours later the hospital wing was much more quiet and less crowded, there were mostly patients laying around with family members surrounding them and healers hovering nearby with potions on a trolley. Harry looked down at his chest and found a thick white bandage wrapped securely around his chest, and his body was littered with bandages and splints to set his broken bones straight. Harry used his good hand to gently touch the bandages over his chest wound and winced when the tender skin pulsed, and then with all his strength he pushed himself into a sitting position, irritated at how it took his breath away.

"You should be resting, your body needs time to heal." Madam Pomfrey murmured as she walked over towards him and gently sat herself down on the side of his bed.

"I can never sit still for long." He replied with a smile, which she returned reluctantly.

"Oh, I know. Here, you need to take a few of these." She said, and reached towards a trolley nearby that held a wide variety of potions and creams.  
She grabbed a few off the trolley and held one a time up to his face for him to see, " Skele-Gro for your finger, shoulder blade and nose. Strengthening solution to help you gain back your strength. Essence of Dittany for your cuts and sores, dreamless sleep for later and calming draught for when your chest acts up."

"Will they effect my chest?" Harry asked, remembering Healer Williams fear.

"No dear, I don't believe they will." Madam Pomfrey replied.

Harry nodded and took the first two potions with difficulty, since they tasted disgusting, and then Madam Pomfrey quietly worked and dripped the essence of dittany on his open cuts, making them smoke and sting until the skin sealed over. For the last two she placed them on the nightstand next to him for later. After he had taken everything he looked back down at himself and saw he looked a little better, but still looked and felt like the Hogwarts Express had run him over.

"How's Remus?" Harry asked and turned his eyes back to Madam Pomfrey.

She let out a sigh and tucked a piece of stray hair that had escaped her bun behind her ear, "He's doing better than before, but it'll take more time until I know for sure he'll completely heal from the silver poisoning. I'm not saying he's going to die," She hastily added when Harry paled, "I'm positive he will survive, but he might not be as strong as he was before and might need some assistance in various things."

Harry let out a breath he had been holding and felt relief wash over him, Remus would be alright, he would live. Harry allowed himself to relish the relief he felt before continuing his questioning.

"Where's everyone else? What time is it?" Harry asked.

"It's around eleven at night, and a lot of the survivors that are healed are repairing the castle at the moment, mostly the teachers. Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Fred Weasley are sleeping in Gryffindor Tower with their parents with the rest of the Gryffindor's. George is right there," She pointed to the left side of the hospital wing near the windows and Harry spotted red hair, "He lost an ear, but he'll be free to leave tomorrow. Sirius and Dumbledore are in the Headmaster's office discussing what to do with Voldemort's body and the dead Death Eaters along with the remaining Order Members."

"Who else is dead? Student wise?" Harry asked with hesitation in his voice.

"I know of Pavarti Patil, Lavender Brown, Anthony Goldstein, Marietta Edgecomb, Tracey Davis, Patricia Stimpson, Seamus Finnigan, Kevin Whitby, Megan Jones, Owen Cauldwell, Stephen Cornfoot, Su Li and Adrian Pucey." Madam Pomfrey listed in a mournful tone.

"Thirteen." Harry whispered, feeling his throat constrict.

"It could of been a lot worse, it sounds awful to say, but we were lucky. We had around twenty casualties at the Ministry, and I know over thirty Death Eaters died along with You-Know-Who."

Harry did a mental count of how many people she listed and who he knew had died, and all together close to seventy people had died yesterday. All because of Voldemort, and because of Harry as well. Madam Pomfrey must of sensed his distress, because she moved closer to him and ran her fingers through his hair in a comforting way.

"You couldn't control who died dear, no one has that power. Everyone who died had a choice to make and knew what the consequences could of been, and you couldn't control that either. I know you have an enormous amount of guilt, but everyone else here feels the exact way. You aren't alone." Her hand left his hair and stroked his cheek, and her thumb rubbed off some dirt off his jaw line.

Harry didn't know what to say to her, so closed his eyes and let out a breath through his nose as his mind tried to sort through everything.

"Where are the bodies?" He asked.

"We moved the injured back into this room and the dead into the second infirmary for the moment until their family members can collect them, but we separated the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who from them and left them in a spare dungeon by the potions classroom."

Harry found himself immensely glad that the Death Eaters and especially Voldemort were moved away from the dead students and adults, they didn't need to be tainted anymore by Voldemort's darkness. The door to the hospital wing creaked loudly as someone pushed on the door and entered, revealing Ron and Ginny as they quickly made their way to his side. Madam Pomfrey muttered a polite goodnight as she pulled his covers over his chest and patted Harry's knee affectionately before rising from the bed and crossing the room to check on her next patient. As they walked purposely towards him Harry noticed Ginny limping on her left leg and saw a puckered pink line on her right cheek, while Ron's ragged shirt revealed he had a bandage wrapped around his ribcage to set his ribs straight, which all made Harry frown.

He barely opened his mouth to greet them before Ginny flung her arms around his neck tightly and pulled his face to hers, giving him the most passionate and roughest kiss he had ever experienced in his life. Harry's thoughts scattered as he used his good arm and wrapped it around her waist and pulled her as close as he possibly could without her on top of him, a small and annoying part of his brain reminded him that Ron was just a few feet away, and most likely not please by their display of affection. Just as Harry went to deepen the kiss Ginny pushed away from him and punched his good shoulder, making him cry out in surprise rather than pain.

"How could you let me believe you were dead!?" She began without preamble, "I don't think I've ever felt so broken and helpless in my entire life! Just seeing the Killing Curse hit you and watching you fall like a puppet that had it's string cut off was-" Ginny cut herself off and slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her sob, which was followed by the brown eyes filling quickly with tears.

Harry grabbed both of her hands and tugged her onto the bed with him, ignoring how Ginny tried to pull her hand away so she could cover her mouth as she sobbed uncontrollably, but Harry didn't mind at how ugly her sobs sounded and cradled her close to him and rested his head on top of hers, slowly rocking her in his arms as he whispered soothing words. Harry looked up and locked eyes with Ron, who had tears in his eyes that wouldn't fall, and had a strange look on his face, like a mixture of both surprised and fearful. Harry watched him carefully while Ginny cried onto his good shoulder, trying to gauge his emotion, and when Ron's lip quivered Harry knew that Ron was trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Was it that bad?" Harry asked softly, and both redheads knew what he meant.

"It was awful," Ron began, speaking for the first time, " It was just like Ginny said; watching a puppet's strings get cut, you sunk to the ground and didn't move, it was chilling to watch. No one but the Death Eaters really cared that Voldemort fell, everyone else was still in shock that you jumped in front of Sirius. Merlin Harry, why did you do that? Did you know the Killing Curse would kill the Horcrux only? Did Dumbledore tell you?"

"Dumbledore never told me anything," Harry spat angrily, "I put the pieces together with everyone watching me, I watched the Order's reaction to it too. No one knew, Dumbledore had kept it to himself."

"So you didn't know if you would survive?" Ginny whispered, raising her head from his shoulder and glared at Harry.

_Uh oh._

"I didn't, but I figured why not kill two birds with one stone? Get rid of the Horcrux and save Sirius as well as everyone else. It was a win-win." Harry explained in a quiet tone, vaguely wondering why this conversation felt so familiar.

Ginny choked at his words and used the sleeve of her shirt and wipe away a stray tear, "A win-win situation? Merlin I've never had such a strong impulse to strangle you."

Harry actually laughed, he learned early on when Ginny threatened him with violence it was her way of affection, as strange as it was. Ron chuckled as well and nodded his head in agreement.

"Why do you Weasley's always gang up on me? I'm your healing savior!" Harry gasped in mock annoyance.

Instead of cheering them up, he brought to their attention of the wounds littered on his body, and was importantly on his chest.

"How is your chest? Did they find out how to cure it?" Ron asked, and Ginny angled her head to look up at him with her head resting on his shoulder.

"I don't think so, my chest still hurts but not as agonizing as it was during the battle. I'm sure they're looking hard on how to fix it." Harry added hastily when their faces paled.

Ron went to open his mouth to question Harry about his chest, but Harry quickly changed the direction of the conversation.

"Why aren't you both sleeping like the rest are? I know you both have to be dead tired." Harry asked.

"We've been coming down every hour to check of how you are, everybody's worried about you." Ron answered, scowling at Harry for changing the subject.

Harry felt himself blush, he was still trying to get used to all the attention given to him, "You didn't have to do that." He told them in a whisper.  
Both Ginny and Ron rolled their eyes, "We know that, you prat. We figured if you woke up you could use the company, since Sirius has been busy with the Order and whatever they're discussing." Ron replied.

"Aren't they sorting out what to do with the Death Eaters?" Harry asked in confusion.

"For three hours? I doubt it." Ginny said with annoyance lacing her voice.

As Harry frowned the hospital wing doors opened and Hermione walked in a quickly as she could with a brace on her ankle to help it heal faster, and with her wild curly hair flying in every direction, Harry thought she looked quite mad.

"Why didn't you wake me up when you left? I wanted to come too!" Hermione complained to the redheads as soon as she reached them, sounding as annoyed as Ginny had been moment's ago.

"You looked like you needed some sleep." Ron responded, sounding slightly guilty.

"Is the Order meeting still going on?" Ginny asked.

"It sounds like it, I could hear Snape yelling about something in Dumbledore's office." Hermione answered her.

Suddenly they all heard a door from the next floor shut loudly, making the ceiling above them vibrate.

"Isn't that Dumbledore's office above us?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yep, I'm guessing the meeting didn't end well." Hermione replied with sarcasm.

"They never seem to." Harry added.

Ron let out a laugh while Ginny and Hermione shared a look before shaking their heads.

"What? Am I wrong? The one time I walked in I was convinced Voldemort was possessing me, the next I almost hexed Snape."

Ron smirked, "You are quite emotional."

Hermione and Ginny burst out laughing at the incredulous look on Harry's face, and them with a glance at the other patients in the room they quieted down to a giggle while Ron gave him a humorous smile.

"Well if I remember correctly-" Harry started, but the doors to the hospital wing opened and caught his attention.

Harry tensed in his bed when he saw Dumbledore limp in with the help of a cane, and Harry wondered what happened to him before he remember he didn't care, and an upset Sirius and Tonks followed in, looking exhausted and grim. Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned from where they sat to see what Harry was looking at and paused as well, their stances changed from relaxed to strained. As Harry predicted Dumbledore limped over to where he laid, the old mans face showing hesitation as he caught Harry's eyes, but Harry stared right back at him with coldness seeping into his glare.

Ginny tightened her grip on his arm to warn him or restrain him, he didn't know, but she didn't move from her spot on the bed next to him. Harry spared a glance over to Hermione in the chair on his left, and saw her cut knuckles clenched the handle of her chair, showing her stress and worry. He then looked towards Ron who sat on the left side of his feet, and his best friend turned his back to Dumbledore and showed that his jaw was locked to keep himself from speaking his mind, which Harry had caught on the habit a while ago. Sirius hurried ahead of Dumbledore and sat down on the right side of Harry's feet, giving him such a look of sympathy that it scared Harry and instantly alerted him. _What had happened?_

Tonks reached them and sat in the last available chair by Harry, which was on his right side, and sat down carefully so she didn't jolt her broken left arm that rested in a hard bandage, and gave Harry such a fake grin that he almost laughed at her effort. When Dumbledore finally reached them he stood at the end of Harry's bed, keeping a reasonable distance between everyone else and himself.

"Harry," He began, and for once he didn't sound confident or cheerful, "After a few hours of discussion we believe we found the reason why your chest is hurting you so, and a possible solution."

After a pregnant pause Harry spoke up, "Well, what is it? Or are you not going to tell me about this either?"

Dumbledore flinched at the coldness and accusation in Harry's voice, and let a sigh out before he continued, "We think the Killing Curse left such a wound because of the Horcrux that Voldemort put inside you, and is a sort of loophole for Voldemort to manipulate."

Harry inhaled sharply and felt his body go cold, "What do you mean? Voldemort is dead, he couldn't hurt me anymore." Harry's voice broke.

Sirius scooted closer to him and gripped his hand gently, "What Dumbledore meant to say," Sirius gave Dumbledore a cold glare, "Is that even though Voldemort is dead his body is effecting you in a way because his soul is still in limbo, and with his body still tethered to his soul it's using the mark that the Horcrux left on your body to torment you."

"He isn't alive?" Harry asked.

Sirius gave him a strained smile, "No, he's dead. But he found a way from the grave to hurt you, and all we have to do is destroy his body beyond repair, almost like a Horcrux. I know it's hard to understand, and I'm sorry. But I'm going to fix you, I promise you that."

"How?" This time Ginny spoke up.

"I'm stabbing the bastards body with a Basilisks fang, but we believe Harry might feel it. So while I destroy the body I'll need a nurse and a few others to help or restrain Harry while it happens." Sirius explained.

Harry paled at the thought of more pain being inflicted upon him, but the end result would be worth it, and he calmed himself down with the thought.

"Do what you need to do, I trust you." Harry whispered.

"Alright, I'm going to call Poppy in now and have her set up whatever she needs to. I want to get this over with as soon as possible so you can heal quicker, it'll be done tonight." Sirius told him.

Harry nodded and took a deep breath, and as Sirius stood he leaned over Harry and kissed his forehead, ignoring the dirt and blood that coated his skin, and as he pulled away he ruffled Harry's messy hair and saw Harry give a reluctant smile. When Sirius straightened and made to walk away, Ron stood up and tried to hid a wince, but stood his ground.

"I'm coming with you." He said.

Sirius closed his eyes for a second before he spoke, "You're injured Ron, you need to take it easy-"

"I know you were hurt and you're doing this, and either way I don't care, I want to help." Ron snapped.

Sirius was taken aback by the loyalty that seem to seep off Ron, and he knew at that moment he couldn't make Ron back down, he knew he himself wouldn't.

"Alright, you can come." Sirius told him with a sigh.

Ron smiled at him and waited by Harry's bed while Sirius left to inform Madam Pomfrey of his plans, and Tonks left them for a minute to check on Remus.

"You don't have to do this Ron." Harry whispered.

"I've told you over a hundred times, I know I don't have to do anything, I want to. Get it in your thick skull people want to help you." Ron said with a roll of his eyes.

Harry bit his lip to keep from smiling, ignoring the grins Hermione and Ginny gave him and how Dumbledore left them with a frown and retreated to another patient. Barely a moment after Sirius returned with Madam Pomfrey trailing behind him with a grim expression.

"Are you ready Ron?" Sirius asked.

Ron stood up straighter, "Whenever you are."

Sirius nodded and went back to Harry and laid a hand on his good shoulder, "I'll see you in a while."

Harry smiled back at him, "Good luck."

Sirius returned his smile and patted his shoulder before he turned away and started out of the hospital wing with Ron at his side, clutching a Basilisk fang tightly in his hand.

* * *

A/N: I submitted this at two in the morning where I live, so if there are any mistakes please let me so I can go back and fix them. Sorry for the long delay, and thank you for reading!


	37. Chapter 37: Ashes, Ashes

Sirius spared once last glance at his godson in the hospital bed before he turned around and walked straight ahead. Ron struggled to keep up with him as he hurried down the hall, he desperately wanted to get this over with as soon as he could for Harry's sake. When Sirius reached the landing for the stairs he had to stop and wait for the stairs to connect him to the next floor, which allowed Ron the time to catch up to him.

"Trying to get rid of me so quick?" Ron huffed out.

Sirius glanced at him and gave a half-hearted grin, "No, as much as I hate to admit it, I'll probably need your help."

Ron gave a dramatic gasp, "Sirius Black admitting he needs help, did Madam Pomfrey check your head?"

Sirius smirked and fought the urge to flip Ron the bird, remembering the last time he did so Molly scolded him for acting in such a way in front of a child. Sirius glanced at Ron and his smile faltered as he felt a chill run through his hold body, Ron wasn't a child anymore, none of them were. That type of innocence never survived a war. Ron caught his sudden mood change and opened his mouth, probably to ask what was wrong, but the stairs had come back and connected with the landing, and Sirius wasted no time hurrying down them.

This time Ron managed to keep up with him, choosing to ignore the pain that lingered in his chest from his recently fixed bones. When they reached the main floor Sirius directed Ron towards the hall that led to the dungeons, trying his best to navigate them through the rubble and broken glass that littered the floor. They didn't say a word to each other as Sirius opened the door that led to the dungeons and walked down with Ron, this time mindful to walk slower for his sake. Sirius stifled a chuckle as he walked towards the dark room that a joined Snape's classroom, finding it somewhat ironic that Voldemort laid so close to the spymasters classroom, but stopped in his tracks when he found his body lying alone on the stone ground with a ragged blanket thrown carelessly over his body.

"They separated the Death Eater's from him?" Ron asked behind him.

"Appears so, probably to give us room for what we need to do." Sirius responded, involuntarily clutching the Basilisk's fang tighter in his hand.

Sirius took a deep breath before he walked over to Voldemort's body, finding a sickening satisfying feeling run through him at all the blood stained on the him.

"He deserved a worse death." Ron said coldly.

Sirius just nodded his head, not taking his eyes off the body in front of him. Where should he stab Voldemort? The head? The chest? He thought of Harry's bloody and badly bruised chest, of the wound that wouldn't heal on the skin that covered his heart. Then he knew exactly where to stab, it made sense to stab Voldemort in the same place that Harry's wound festered. Sirius bent his knees and crouched down near Voldemort, ripping the blanket off and searched a moment to find the right spot he needed to stab.

"Shield me but stay by the door, I don't know what'll happen when I stab the bastard." Sirius told Ron.

Ron nodded, then realized Sirius wasn't looking at him, "Okay," He voiced aloud.

Sirius waited until he heard Ron back away from him and saw the flicker of a shield surround himself before he positioned the fang over Voldemort's chest, thinking of nothing but all the pain this sadistic, pathetic excuse of a human being tortured and nearly killed Harry, his godson, practically his son...  
Sirius let out a grunt as he forced the fang through Voldemort, feeling it rip through skin and muscle and bone. As soon as Sirius had stabbed him the body started to twitch, and Sirius fear that for a moment Voldemort had somehow faked his death, but then the fang buried in Voldemort's chest turned into ash, and then the skin around it cracked and then became ash too, as well as the rest of the body. Sirius watched in fascination as his enemy crumbled before him until he was nothing but ash and dust. Voldemort was truly gone, he was _nothing_.

"Sirius," Ron's voice echoed in the dungeon, "Harry."

At the sound of his godson's name Sirius snapped out of his thoughts and straightened his body. _Was Harry okay? Did he feel any of this?_ If Voldemort had turned to ash, what of Harry?

"Let's go." Sirius said hurriedly as he raced past Ron towards the stairs.

Ron kept pace with him, running all the way to the Hospital Wing until they were at the front door. While Ron hesitated a moment, fearful of what he would see, Sirius didn't think twice as he pushed the doors open, but then he too stopped. Madam Pomfrey, Healer Williams and Molly were standing by Harry's bed, with the two healers frantically talking to one another and grabbing at supplies while Molly stroked Harry's face, trying to comfort him as Harry gasped and groaned. Sirius collected his thoughts and hurried to Harry's side, unaware that Ron had finally come in. As soon as Molly saw Sirius she instantly moved to make room for him, but didn't let go of Harry, while Sirius grabbed his hand.

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

Molly picked up on the panic in his voice and rested a hand on his shoulder, "When you left the girls summoned me to come help the healers; they didn't have enough healers to spare and didn't want the children to see this. We tried to prepare him for what would happen and guessed at the supplies we would need, but when ... when you did whatever you did, he started screaming and his chest blackened, like it had been burned. He just stopped screaming a moment or so ago after we gave him a dreamless sleep, we couldn't work on him with him thrashing to get away from us. We've given him a pain potion and the healers are looking for the burn balm right now." Molly answered.

Sirius braced himself as he lowered the sheet hastily thrown over Harry's chest to keep it out of sight, ignoring the sounds of Molly ushering Ron out of the room, and almost fainted at the sight before him. It looked as if sometime had poured black tar in the shape of a lightening bolt on the left part of his chest with the skin around it a bright red. Sirius slowly reached his hand out to touch the blackened skin, curious if felt as hard as it looked, but when his hand connected it felt similar to a scab. When he felt Harry suck in a breath and tense Sirius pulled his hand away, cursing himself for not thinking of how it might of hurt Harry.

Healer Williams came over to the other side of Harry's bed, where she had better access to the wound, and opened a jar full a dark green colored cream. Sirius went to ask what it was called when the smell of the cream assaulted his nostrils, making his eyes water as she applied it onto the wound, and watched Harry flinch at the contact before he relaxed.

"It's called Rigentem Crepito, it cools and numbs burnt skin. I just hope it works on this and eases his pain." She explained to him.

While Healer Williams charmed a cloth to stay cool and laid it on Harry's forehead, Madam Pomfrey brought over fresh bandages and began to wrap them around Harry's chest with Molly's help. Sirius went to the end of the bed and grabbed the wooden chair there and dragged it to the side of the bed so he could comfortably keep an eye on Harry. As the healers continued there work of fixing Harry, Sirius let his mind drift over the last two days, over all the panic and fear and utter helplessness he had felt. His mind conjured the image of Harry lying dead in the middle of the Great Hall, and knew that it would forever haunt him.

Sirius was startled out of his thoughts when Molly wiped his cheek and felt the wetness her fingers spread, and when he looked up at her he realized he had started to cry. His eyes scanned the room to look for the the healers, but they had left Harry's side and were now attending to different patients. Molly grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to his, and when she gave him a comforting smile despite the fact her own eyes were watering Sirius almost lost his control.

"They've done all that they can for now, when Harry is rested enough they'll see what else they can do for him," Sirius nodded, letting out a shuddering breath, "It's okay, you know, to cry. It's completely natural given the circumstances of the last few days. You have nothing to feel ashamed about." Molly said soothingly.

The image of Orion Black striking him as a child suddenly came to Sirius' mind, who had been punished for crying at the small age of six when a stinging jinx that his cousin Bellatrix had thrown at him, and had been scolded that men don't cry. Sirius knew his father had been wrong, he had seen grown men cry dozens of times during his lifetime, especially during the two wizarding wars he had lived through. So when Molly placed her arm around his shoulder Sirius let himself fall into her side and rest his head against her shoulder, and cried.

He cried because of all the pain and terror he had been through, for his family that had been hurt, for _everything_. He felt Molly shuddered as she too cried, and Sirius remembered painfully that she had just lost a son, that her family had been hurt too. He didn't know how long he sat there and cried against her, knowing that she'd been crying as well, but when his eyes turned puffy and drooped from exhaustion he slowly pulled away. Molly sat up straighter in her chair and reached out to grab his hand, looking as exhausted as he felt.

"The children will be coming soon," Molly said, pointing with her chin to the window, which showed that the sun had started to come up, "I'll be over where George is and wake him before his siblings do."

Molly patted his hand once before she rose from her chair and set it back against the wall, and offered Sirius her kind motherly smile before she walked down the room to where her son laid. Sirius turned his attention back to Harry, watching his chest rise up and down with each heartbeat, thankful that Harry was finally able to rest after all this hell he had been through. Clasping Harry's hand in his own, Sirius laid his arm down on the bed and used it as a pillow for his head, and tilted his head to the side so Harry was still in his line of sight. Sirius must of nodded off for a while, because when he blinked his eyes open the Hospital Wing was full of people visiting their loved ones and the sun was fully out.

He lifted his head off the bed and stretched his arms out, looking around the room before his eyes caught the red hair that could only belong to the Weasley's, and saw Molly and Arthur sitting by their sons bed with Fred and Bill sitting side by side with George, who was waving his arms out as he told what looked like a very exciting tale. Sirius got out of his chair and glanced at Harry again to make sure that he was still sleeping, then reached out and brushed the hair that had fallen on Harry's closed eyelids away before he walked towards the Weasley's.

"Good morning Padfoot!" George said as he saw Sirius approach, alerting everyone of his presence.

"How are you, George?" Sirius asked, noticing the bandage wrapped around his head.

"What's that? Can't hear you." George asked, cupping his hand around the area where his ear should of been.

Sirius had forgotten all about George's injury and felt guilt flare in him, and just as he opened his mouth to apologize George let out a cackle that was quickly joined in by Fred, and as Bill and Arthur chuckled Molly tried half-heartedly to be stern but ended up grinning so widely it contradicted against what she had been saying.

"At least we can always rely on you lot," Sirius said with a smirk, and reached out to ruffle George's hair, "Where's everyone else?"

"Ron, Ginny and Hermione came down with us and just left a few minutes ago to go check up on Remus." Arthur responded.

Sirius instantly froze where he stood. _Shit_. Remus hadn't even crossed his mind this whole entire time. The last time he had checked on Remus it had been before the Order Meeting to figure out what was wrong with Harry. He could be dying from the silver poisoning for all he knew, some friend he was.

"He's the last bed on the right side behind you." Bill said before Sirius could ask.

"Thanks."

Sirius gave a quick wave to them before he hurried to where he saw Ron, Ginny and Hermione talking to Tonks, who caught his eyes moments before he stopped at the foot of Remus' bed. His friend looked pale and sweaty, caught in an uneasy sleep.

"He's doing better. I should of come over and told you but I fell asleep, I just woke up about a half hour ago. Sorry." Tonks let go of Remus' hand for a moment to wipe her sweaty hands off on her trousers, a nervous habit.

Sirius sat down on the bed by Remus' feet and sighed, "It's not your fault. We're all trying to be two places at once and it's impossible. How is he?"

"He's stable right now, they restocked on Blood Replenishers and gave him a few to clean his blood of the silver. Madam Pomfrey said he'll heal fine, his back just might bother him for a while because he didn't get medical attention right away, the silver did some damage."

"How bad?" Fear and guilt gripped at Sirius.

"He probably won't be able to walk for long periods of time without a cane, and it'll be hard for him to run." Tonks answered, looking guilty herself.  
Sirius looked down at Remus and smiled, "Now he'll be the spitting image of the old man that he's always acted like."

He heard snorts of laughter from Ron and Hermione while Ginny out right laughed, and Tonks managed to crack a smile.

"Piss off." Remus muttered, with closed eyes but a grin on his face.

They all jumped in surprise that he was awake, and as Remus opened his eyes Sirius scooted closer and looked at him.

"How you feeling Moony?" Sirius asked.

"I've been better, it feels like most of the silver is out of my system, I just feel weak." Remus admitted.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get the best cane possible." Sirius teased.

"Make sure it's mahogany."

Sirius let out a bark-like laughter, relieved Remus still had his sense of humor. Remus smirked at him and slowly raised himself into a sitting position, and when he grimaced Tonks hurried to fix his pillows to ease his back pain. When he was situated Tonks sat back down in her chair and grasped Remus hand, who squeezed her hand reassuringly and rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand.

"We're gonna go sit with Harry." Hermione said as she, Ron and Ginny rose from the chairs they were sitting in.

"Let me know if anything changes." Sirius said.

Hermione nodded before she left with Ron and Ginny.

"How is Harry? Did you guys figure out what's wrong with his chest?" Remus asked.

Sirius told him about the Order meeting and how Dumbledore suggested that some part of Voldemort's soul must of lingered where the Horcrux was destroyed on Harry, and to break the connection Voldemort needed to be destroyed. He went on and described what happened to Voldemort when he stabbed him, and then the effect it had had on Harry.

"I still can't believe Dumbledore never told us that he thought Harry might of been a Horcrux. Remus said as he shook his head.

"He didn't guess Remus, he knew." Sirius corrected.

"HE WHAT?!" Remus yelled angrily, and tried to get himself out of bed.

"Calm down! You'll hurt yourself!" Sirius said and he and Tonks pushed Remus against his pillows.

"He fucking knew and didn't do a damn thing, just waited for Voldemort to do his dirty work." Remus snarled, ignoring the looks people in the Hospital Wing were giving him.

"I already chewed him out for all the shit he pulled, and trust me I wasn't the only one. Dumbledore will pay for what he did." Sirius promised.

"Don't be hastily, you too. You can't just go and attack Dumbledore." Tonks hissed at them both.

"He was willing to let Harry die to get rid of Voldemort, to sacrifice him." Remus said, clearly upset at the thought.

"I agree that it's unforgivable of Dumbledore to do that, but I watched Harry when he figured it all out, he would of sacrificed himself regardless of what Dumbledore had had in mind. Do he ever say what he had in mind?" Tonks said.

"I think he just expected that Harry would act and do it, which is exactly what he did. He shouldn't of had to, he's just a boy." Sirius whimpered.

"I saw how disgusted he looked when he figured out he was a Horcrux, he would of done anything to get rid of it. He wouldn't let his life get in the way of ending Voldemort's, not after everything Voldemort's done. Harry's gonna feel tainted and dirty after this, he's gonna pull away from us again." Remus said in despair.

"I won't let him, he deserves to be happy after all this. That boy hasn't had a day go by where he wasn't threatened or in danger, but now he does. And we'll make sure it stays that way." Sirius said fiercely.

Remus opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly perked up and looked around the room, which caused Sirius and Tonks to do the same, and then Sirius see Ron and heard him calling for him.

"Sirius! Harry's awake."

* * *

Surprise! I'm back. I feel awful I haven't posted in over a year. I got into a car accident last May and got pretty banged up, but now I'm fully healed and exciting to finish this story!


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